PRAGUE (RFE/RL)A representative of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe has proposed adding the United States to the chairmanship of the negotiating group attempting to settle the issue of Nagorno-Karabakh.
The Minsk Group–which had been charged with mediating a resolution in the nine-year struggle in Nagorno-Karabakh–is currently co-chaired by the Russian Federation and France.
OSCE representative Susan Christiansen made the proposal Monday night during a meeting with Azeri Foreign Minister Hasan Hasanov.
Azerbaijan continues to object to the OSCE’s original proposal of having France and Russia co-chair the group. This has stalled negotiations aimed at resolving the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict for the past two months–observers said.
Hasanov last week asked France to withdraw its candidacy for the co-chairmanship altogether. He suggested that Russia and the United States be made the sole co-chairs–but Christiansen told Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty Tuesday that there was no alternative to her "troika" proposal.
