STEPANAKERT.- President of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic Bako Sahakyan received OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs Igor Popov (Russia), Jacques Faure (France) and Ian Kelly (USA).

President Sahakyan welcomed the U.S. Co-Chair Ian Kelly, wished him success in his work, at the same time hailing former Co-Chair Robert Bradtke’s contribution to the peace process.

Referring to the conflict, Bako Sahakyan underlined that Baku continues its destructive policy, which poses a serious threat both to the peace process and maintenance of stability and peace in the entire region, NKR president’s press service reported.

He recorded with regret the fact that the proposal of official Stepanakert not to violate the ceasefire regime during international and religious holidays was actually ignored by Azerbaijan, and Baku still continues daily violations along the line of contact.

The President reconfirmed position of official Stepanakert, underlining that Artsakh [Nagorno-Karabakh] stands for peaceful settlement and complete restoration of the ongoing negotiation format within the frameworks of the OSCE Minsk Group.

NKR foreign minister Karen Mirzoyan, personal representative of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office, Ambassador Andrzej Kasprzyk and other officials were present at the meeting.