The longer the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh lasts, and the more intensively the sides get armed, the higher is the risk of a new escalation, including a war between Armenia and Azerbaijan, Head of the German Foreign Office, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, said before the meeting of the OSCE Minks Group in Vienna Monday.

“The violent fighting along the Line of Contact six weeks ago shows that the longstanding status quo is inconsistent in a long-term perspective.  The longer the conflict lasts, and the more intensively its sides get armed, the higher is the risk of a new escalation, even a war between Armenia and Azerbaijan,” the German Foreign Office press-service reports.

According to him, the OSCE plays an important role in the conflict settlement. “As Minsk Group Co-Chairs, France, Russia and U.S. are trying to consolidate the [decision on] ceasefire regime for many years, and resume the political process. Germany supports this as an OSCE Chairman,” he added.

“In our opinion, the goals should be the establishment and reinforcement of ceasefire regimes on the Line of Contact, agreement on confidence-building measures and launch of a negotiation process. This will take certain time: the decision will not come immediately,” the Minister said, RIA Novosti reports.  

The OSCE Minsk Group, Russian and French FMs, as well as the U.S. Secretary of State will hold talks on the Nagorno-Karabakh settlement in Vienna tonight.