OSCE Secretary General, Lamberto Zannier said he tried to convey three messages to foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan during their meetings in July.

“First, there is no alternative to a peaceful, negotiated solution for the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict on the basis of Madrid principles.

 Second, prerequisites for such a solution are the strict observance of the ceasefire regime, removing snipers from the line of contact and abstaining from retaliatory measures and militant rhetoric which could fuel further escalation of tensions. 

And the third point that I tried to put across is that no external actor – be it OSCE or any other international player – can resolve a conflict or impose a solution: it requires the political will, commitment and responsibility of the sides to find a lasting peaceful solution,” Zannier said in an interview with 1news.az.

Zannier said his regional visit reinforced conviction that the conflict continues to threaten regional stability and hampers economic and social development of the South Caucasus.

“The longer the conflict remains unresolved the more difficult it becomes to get political compromise and overcome the differences, including those in the minds of people. Today’s youth already has no experience of life without the conflict,” he told Azerbaijani website.

Speaking about progress in talks, the OSCE head noted that he, and many others, too are concerned about the absence of any tangible progress on the Nagorno-Karabakh settlement, and about the deterioration of the situation on the ground.