OSCE Minsk Co-Chairs Arrive in Nagorno-Karabakh for Talks With President

STEPANAKERT (Sputnik) — The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group arrived in the self-proclaimed Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh’s (NKR) capital Stepanakert for negotiations with NKR President Bako Sahakyan in the wake of a violence escalation in the region, presidential spokesman David Babayan said Thursday.

Azerbaijan and Armenia agreed on an immediate ceasefire in Nagorno-Karabakh on Tuesday, after almost four days of intense fighting in Azerbaijan's disputed region with predominantly Armenian population that led to 33 deaths, according to UN data. The parties have since accused each other of multiple ceasefire violations.

"The co-chairs have already arrived and are waiting for a meeting with the president," Babayan told RIA Novosti.

According to him, the meeting will take place later on Thursday.

Nagorno-Karabakh has been at the center of a conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia. Fighting began in 1988, when the autonomous region sought to secede from the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic. The region proclaimed independence when the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991.

The OSCE Minsk Group, co-chaired by the United States, Russia and France, has been mediating the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict settlement since 1992. The group's ambassadors met in Vienna on Tuesday to discuss the recent outbreak of violence in the region.