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YEREVAN, DECEMBER 19, ARMENPRESS:In an exclusive interview to Armenpress, Karel de Gucht, Belgian foreign minister and the outgoing Chairman-in-Office of the OSCE said some positive movements have been made on the question of the protracted conflicts in 2006, in particular concerning Nagorno-Karabakh, where the prospects look considerably better than a year ago. “The negotiations in 2006, in particular the latest meeting between the two Presidents in Minsk on 28 November, have brought the sides closer to an agreement on the basic principles for the settlement of the conflict. It is my wish that the coming year both presidents will redouble their efforts to finalize these basic principles as soon as possible,” Karel de Gucht said. In response to a question how he could assess the efforts of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairmen during the Belgian chairmanship of the OSCE, Mr. de Gucht said,” The efforts of the co-chairmen of the OSCE Minsk Group are extremely valuable, in particular their proved creativeness in developing "basic principles" for the settlement of the conflict. As I already mentioned, the negotiations facilitated by the co-chairmen of the Minsk Group and supported by the CiO have brought the sides during 2006 closer to an agreement on the basic principles for the settlement of the conflict.” He also said the recent basic principles being discussed between the two sides are very reasonable and a good basis for further progress. “I do believe in the possibility of having an agreement on the basic principles in the upcoming year,” he said.