FM: Azerbaijan agrees to ministerial meeting on Nagorno-Karabakh
By Rashid Shirinov
Azerbaijan’s Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov stated that inactivity is observed in the settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
“After the St. Petersburg meeting we were hoping for progress and would like to restore the atmosphere of St. Petersburg but the Armenian side, the leadership of this side slows down the process,” Mammadyarov told reporters on November 7.
Two meetings between the presidents of Azerbaijan and Armenia took place after the "Four-Day War" in April this year. After the meetings in Vienna and St. Petersburg in May and June 2016, the presidents were expected to meet in August also; however, it did not happen due to ignoring from the Armenian side, which tries to hinder the negotiations process.
Mammadyarov further informed that the OSCE MG co-chairs propose to organize a meeting of foreign ministers of Azerbaijan and Armenia in the framework of the OSCE Ministerial Council in Hamburg.
“Azerbaijan has given its consent," the minister told reporters on November 7.
During their recent visit to the region, the co-chairs of the Minsk Group, which is designed to find a peaceful solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, met with the presidents and foreign ministers of both countries and de facto authorities in Nagorno-Karabakh, and discussed the situation on the contact line after the April clashes, as well as clarified the current condition of the negotiation process.
After the visit, the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs said that they plan to set up a meeting of Azerbaijani and Armenian foreign ministers in Hamburg with a view to meet the presidents of both countries at the earliest opportunity.
The meeting of OSCE Ministerial Council will take place on December 8-9.
Azerbaijan and Armenia fought a lengthy war that ended with the signing of a fragile ceasefire in 1994. Since the war, Armenian armed forces have occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan's territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding regions. More than 20,000 Azerbaijanis were killed and over 1 million were displaced as a result of the large-scale hostilities.
While the OSCE Minsk Group acted as the only mediator in resolution of the conflict, the occupation of the territory of the sovereign State with its internationally recognized boundaries has been left out of due attention of the international community for years.
Armenia ignores four UN Security Council resolutions on immediate withdrawal from the occupied territory of Azerbaijan, thus keeping tension high in the region.
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Rashid Shirinov is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @RashidShirinov
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