VIENNA, May 11 (RIA Novosti) - The OSCE chairperson-in-office, Greek Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyannis, has hailed the efforts of the OSCE Minsk Group in the settlement of the Nagorny Karabakh conflict.

In a OSCE press release issued on Monday, Bakoyannis said she fully supported the body's work, adding that a peaceful settlement is the only solution for the situation.

The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Minsk Group was created in 1992 to encourage a peaceful resolution to the conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia over Nagorny Karabakh, a region in Azerbaijan with a largely Armenian population.

The region declared its independence in a 1991 after a referendum boycotted by local Azeris. The ensuing conflict claimed some 35,000 lives before a ceasefire was signed in 1994. The area technically remains part of Azerbaijan, but has de facto independence.

Azerbaijan on Saturday blamed Armenia for the lack of significant progress towards a settlement of the Nagorny Karabakh conflict during recent talks in the Czech Republic.

"I cannot say that we have achieved any significant progress. Complex issues were discussed at the meeting in Prague. Unfortunately, the Armenian side once again did not show a constructive approach," Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov said.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan met in Prague last Thursday, along with the co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group.