VIENNA, January 22. /TASS/. OSCE’s Minsk Group coordinating efforts in Krabakh settlement calls on the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) to refrain from adopting resolutions on Nagorno Karabakh, co-chairmen of the Group Igor Popov of Russia, James Warlick of the United States and Pierre Andrieu of France said in a statement published on Friday.

"We understand that the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe [PACE] may consider resolutions on the conflict in the near future and remind PACE, and other regional and international organizations, that the Minsk Group remains the only accepted format for negotiations," the statement said. "We appreciate the interest paid by PACE members, but urge that steps not be taken which could undermine the Minsk Group’s mandate from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe or complicate ongoing negotiations," it added.

Neighbouring Armenia and Azerbaijan fell out with each other in the late 1980s because of Nagorno Karabakh, the disputed territory that had been part of Azerbaijan before the Soviet Union break-up but was mainly populated by Armenians.

In 1991-1994, the confrontation spilled over into large-scale military action for control over the enclave and some adjacent territories. Thousands left their homes on both sides in a conflict that killed 30,000. A truce was called between Armenia and the Nagorno Karabakh republic on one side and Azerbaijan on the other in May 1994.