Statement by the Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group issued on 28 May: UK statement
Ambassador Neil Bush welcomes continued efforts of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs to secure a sustainable, peaceful and fully negotiated settlement.
Thank you Madame Chair,
The United Kingdom thanks the French delegation for reading out the 28 May statement by the Co-Chairs. The United Kingdom fully supports and welcomes the continued efforts of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs to secure a sustainable, peaceful and fully negotiated settlement.
We urge Armenia and Azerbaijan to refrain from taking actions which may exacerbate the current tensions in relation to the non-demarcated border between their countries, immediately relocate their troops and to continue engaging in substantive negotiations to peacefully settle any disputes, without preconditions. We encourage Armenia and Azerbaijan to utilise the offer from the Co-Chairs to assist in facilitating this process.
The United Kingdom urges both parties to urgently prioritise the return of prisoners of war and detainees and to expedite the repatriation of the remains of the deceased including, where possible, from previous conflicts in the region.
We encourage all parties in the region to ensure humanitarian actors including UN agencies are provided with full access to the region and necessary support in order to provide humanitarian care.
We encourage all parties to undertake to provide each other with necessary maps pertaining to mines that were laid during previous conflicts, noting that these pose an indiscriminate threat to civilian life.
The Minsk Group remains the primary format through which a settlement should be reached. The United Kingdom offers its unconditional support to the efforts of France, the United States and Russia in their capacity as Co-Chairs to assist in these matters.
Thank you Madame Chair.