German Foreign Minister, the OSCE Chairperson-in- Office Frank-Walter Steinmeier intends to visit the South Caucasus region in early July.
Talking to the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs, Steinmeier said he is looking to discuss peace efforts to resolve the Karabakh conflict. He welcomed the arrangements made by the Armenian, Azerbaijani and Russian presidents in Saint Petersburg on June 20 and expressed his support to the peace talks under aegis of the OSCE Minsk Group.
The OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs, in turn, dwelled upon the results of the St. Petersburg meeting saying that the sides agreed to expand the mandate of the OSCE CiO Personal Representative, which implies enlargement of the observation mission in the conflict zone. According to the mediators, such measures will help stabilize the situation in the conflict zone and promote confidence-building measures. Frank -Walter Steinmeier and the mediators agreed that the ceasefire and return to political talks is the imperative of our era.