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12 January 2017

Trend

Austrian Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz pledged support to the OSCE Minsk Group in the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict’s settlement, said a message posted on the OSCE website.

According to the message, Kurz made the statement in his inaugural address to the OSCE Permanent Council as the new OSCE chairperson-in-office Jan. 12.

“With regard to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Kurz noted the important contribution of his Personal Representative Ambassador Andrzej Kasprzyk and the Head of the High-Level Planning Group, Colonel Hans Lampalzer,” reads the message.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.