PARIS-The Karabakh conflict must be resolved quickly and peacefully without compromising the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan or undermining the autonomy of Nagorno-Karabakh– the press secretary of the newly-elected French co-chairman of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe Minsk Group–Jacques Blott–told a Radio Liberty correspondent Thursday.
De Trio said France has always been interested in resolving the Nagorno-Karabakh issue–and has actively pursued avenues to that end. The French Foreign Minister visited the region two months ago to hold high-level talks on stability and conflict resolution–he said.
There are already key principles that the OSCE membership has agreed upon regarding Nagorno-Karabakh–De Trio said– adding that a compromise is necessary between the sides to the conflict and the members of the mediating group in order to get out of the current stalemate in negotiations.
"However–it is too early to speak of a new settlement," De Trio told Radio Liberty–"but we must make sure that the talks continue."
Responding to whether Karabakh should be included in reaching a compromise solution–De Trio said–"We are not alone at the negotiations. We must not forget Russias co- chairmanship or the participation of the other members."