"We would like to see the continuation of the process which we saw for the last 20 years, the work of the OSCE Minsk group, and we would like to see the continuation of the US engagement like it was in the previous years," Hovhannissian said on Tuesday. "With the new US Administration we see the decline of the group’s activity. Although in the last several weeks it’s been getting restored."
Hovhannissian noted that the co-chairs of the group made statements in the same spirit of previous years, supporting the main principles of solving the conflict, the non-use of force, territorial integrity, and the right of self-determination.
US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Bridget Brink said earlier on Tuesday that Washington continues to be committed to co-chair the OSCE Minsk group on the Nagorno-Karabakh crisis, and urges both presidents to reengage in negotiations "on substance and in good faith."
The Armenian-dominated breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh proclaimed independence in 1991, which led to a military conflict, with Azerbaijan losing control over the region in 1994.
On April 2, 2016, the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh escalated, leading to multiple casualties on both sides. The parties signed a Russian-brokered ceasefire on April 5, but mutual accusations of ceasefire violations have not stopped so far.
The situation in the region is monitored by the OSCE Minsk Group, co-chaired by France, Russia and the United States, within the framework of which negotiations on peace settlement has been conducted since 1992.
