Azernews.Az

By Rashid Shirinov

The EU Special Representative for the South Caucasus, Herbert Salber and Armenia's Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian have discussed the efforts of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs on creation of necessary conditions for promotion of a peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

During the meeting in Yerevan, the sides stressed the need to fulfill the agreements reached in Vienna and St. Petersburg meetings last year, and also discussed the upcoming Moscow meeting of the Azerbaijani and Armenian foreign ministers.

Following the meeting in St. Petersburg in June 2016, the Azerbaijani and Armenian Presidents confirmed in a joint statement the agreements reached during the previous Armenian-Azerbaijani summit in Vienna. These agreements are aimed at stabilizing the situation in the conflict zone and the creation of an atmosphere conducive to advancing the peace process.

Armenia captured Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding regions from Azerbaijan in a war that followed the Soviet breakup in 1991. More than 20,000 Azerbaijanis were killed and nearly 1 million were displaced as a result of the war.

Large-scale hostilities ended with a Russia-brokered ceasefire in 1994 but Armenia continued the occupation in defiance of four UN Security Council resolutions calling for immediate and unconditional withdrawal.

Peace talks mediated by Russia, France and the U.S. have produced no results so far.

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Rashid Shirinov is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @RashidShirinov

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