OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Slovakian Foreign and European Affairs Minister Miroslav Lajcak and Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group discussed prospects for settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict in Bratislava, Trend reports citing Slovakian MFA press service.

Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Andrzej Kasprzyk also attended the meeting.

During the meeting, Lajcak expressed satisfaction with the fact that the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs together with the parties to the conflict, continued discussing further steps to reduce tension and maintain an atmosphere conducive to peace.

He noted that Slovakia, as the chair of the OSCE, will continue to assist them in this matter.

The meeting participants also discussed preparations for the meeting of the OSCE Foreign Ministers Council, which will be held on December 5-6 in Bratislava.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from Nagorno Karabakh and the surrounding districts.