Yerevan /Mediamax/. The OSCE Minsk group Co-Chairs made a statement on the twentieth anniversary of the 1994 ceasefire agreement in the area of Karabakh conflict.

“Thanks to the resulting truce a new generation of Armenians and Azerbaijanis grew up without experiencing the horrors of war, and the sides should do everything possible to protect future generations from such experience”, the statement reads.

At the same time, the Russian, U.S. and French Co-Chairs noted that the “the ceasefire agreement did not, however, resolve the underlying conflict”.

“The territories surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh remain occupied and the attempts to provide a path forward on status for Nagorno-Karabakh failed”, the statement reads.

The Co-Chairs pointed out that “in some quarters there is a misconception that the status quo can be sustained indefinitely”.

The statement reads that a settlement will have to include the elements outlined by the Presidents of the co-chair countries in statements from 2009 to 2013, which include the return of the territories surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh, interim status for Nagorno-Karabakh guaranteeing security and self-governance, a corridor linking Armenia to Nagorno-Karabakh, final status of Nagorno-Karabakh to be determined in the future by a legally-binding expression of will, the right of all internally-displaced persons and refugees to return, and international security guarantees, including a peacekeeping operation.

“In November we saw a promising renewal of dialogue at the highest levels. We call on the sides to enter into constructive, good-faith negotiations resulting in a peace agreement based on these elements in order to bring about a lasting settlement to the conflict”, the statement reads.