The OSCE official website reports that the Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group (Ambassadors Robert Bradtke of the United States of America, Igor Popov of the Russian Federation, and Jacques Faure of France) and the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-office, Ambassador Andrzej Kasprzyk, met with the Foreign Minister of Armenia, Edward Nalbandian on September 2, then with the Foreign Minister of Azerbaijan, Elmar Mammadyarov on September 3, for discussing the recent events in the region and efforts to peacefully resolve the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
The issue of discussion between the Co-Chairs and the two Ministers was the August 31 decision of the Government of Azerbaijan to pardon Ramil Safarov, an Azerbaijani army officer who had been serving a life sentence in Hungary for the brutal 2004 murder of an Armenian officer in Budapest. They expressed their deep concern and regret for the damage the pardon and any attempts to glorify the crime have done to the peace process and trust between the sides.
The Co-Chairs reiterated to both Ministers that there is no alternative to a peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict as their Presidents stated in Los Cabos on June 19. They will continue to maintain contacts with the sides to reduce tensions and advance the peace process.
