Aliyev agrees to meet Sarkisian
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has agreed to
meet with his Armenian counterpart Serzh Sarkisian in Davos,
Switzerland on the sidelines of an economic forum that is due
January 28, international mediators said after talks in Baku on
Tuesday.
The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group, which is brokering a settlement to the Upper (Nagorno) Garabagh conflict, indicated that as agreed, they could not elaborate broadly on the discussions held.
Yuri Merzlyakov, the Russian co-chair, said the mediators sensed from the meetings held in the Azerbaijani capital that there were tendencies toward reaching progress in the peace process.
"The issue of resolving the Garabagh problem on the basis of basic principles remains on agenda. If the presidents` meeting takes place, certain clarifications could be made and changes introduced to some of the principles."
French co-chairman Bernard Fassier added that a peaceful solution was the only option to settle the long-standing dispute.
The intermediaries met with President Ilham Aliyev and Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov. Later in the day, they left for the Armenian capital Yerevan. The co-chairs have expressed hope that President Sarkisian would also agree to the next round of presidential talks on Garabagh settlement.
The Azerbaijani and Armenian leaders last met in Moscow on November 2, 2008. A declaration was signed in conclusion of the talks, which took place on the initiative of Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.
The conflict between the two South Caucasus republics reared up in the late 1980s due to Armenia`s territorial claims. Armenia has been occupying over 20% of Azerbaijan`s internationally-recognized territory since the early 1990s in defiance of international law. The ceasefire accord was signed in May 1994, but over a decade of efforts by the US, Russian and French mediators have been fruitless so far.
The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group, which is brokering a settlement to the Upper (Nagorno) Garabagh conflict, indicated that as agreed, they could not elaborate broadly on the discussions held.
Yuri Merzlyakov, the Russian co-chair, said the mediators sensed from the meetings held in the Azerbaijani capital that there were tendencies toward reaching progress in the peace process.
"The issue of resolving the Garabagh problem on the basis of basic principles remains on agenda. If the presidents` meeting takes place, certain clarifications could be made and changes introduced to some of the principles."
French co-chairman Bernard Fassier added that a peaceful solution was the only option to settle the long-standing dispute.
The intermediaries met with President Ilham Aliyev and Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov. Later in the day, they left for the Armenian capital Yerevan. The co-chairs have expressed hope that President Sarkisian would also agree to the next round of presidential talks on Garabagh settlement.
The Azerbaijani and Armenian leaders last met in Moscow on November 2, 2008. A declaration was signed in conclusion of the talks, which took place on the initiative of Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.
The conflict between the two South Caucasus republics reared up in the late 1980s due to Armenia`s territorial claims. Armenia has been occupying over 20% of Azerbaijan`s internationally-recognized territory since the early 1990s in defiance of international law. The ceasefire accord was signed in May 1994, but over a decade of efforts by the US, Russian and French mediators have been fruitless so far.
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