Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation Sergey Lavrov, Secretary of State of the United States Hillary Rodham Clinton, and Foreign Minister of France Alain Juppé, issued the statement on NK Conflict on March 22. The statement particularly reads: “On the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the formal request to convene a conference on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, we, the Foreign Ministers of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chair countries, call upon the sides to demonstrate the political will needed to achieve a lasting and peaceful settlement. As Presidents Medvedev, Obama, and Sarkozy reiterated in their joint statement at Deauville on May 24, 2011, only a negotiated settlement can lead to peace, stability, and reconciliation, and any attempt to use force to resolve the conflict would bring only more suffering to a region”. Heads of OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chair countries recalled that any delay in reaching a settlement will only prolong hardships of the peoples of the region which suffered due to the war. The mediators urged the sides to prepare their populations for peace, not war. “We urge the leaders of the sides to complete work as soon as possible on the framework agreement and subsequent final settlement - based on the Helsinki Final Act principles of non-use or threat of force, territorial integrity, and self-determination and equal rights of peoples; the United Nations Charter; and norms and principles of international law - which will allow the entire region to move beyond the status quo toward a more secure and prosperous future.”

---