Azernews.Az

The Azerbaijani and Armenian presidents have agreed to meet in the next two months, international mediators brokering a settlement to the Upper (Nagorno) Garabagh conflict said at the conclusion of their visit to the region early last week.
The venue and date of the meeting has not yet been determined, according to the co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group, who have held talks with officials in Baku and Yerevan. Overall, the mediators termed their visit to be successful.
Presidents Ilham Aliyev and Serzh Sarkisian last met in Zurich on January 28.
The co-chairmen had begun their visit in Baku on February 26. After holding talks with President Ilham Aliyev and Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov, they headed to Yerevan where they discussed the Garabagh settlement with President Serzh Sarkisian and Foreign Minister Eduard Nalbandian, as well as in Khankandi, an Azeri town now used by Armenians as the center of the self-proclaimed republic.
US mediator Matthew Bryza said the co-chairs had not expected considerable progress during this visit.
"The talks were not that easy, both in Upper Garabagh and Armenia. Nonetheless, we and the Armenian government have come to an agreement that there is a need for continuing the [peace] process. The meetings we held had laid the grounds for us to return to Baku. We had meaningful and constructive discussions with President Aliyev that will give an incentive to the process," Bryza concluded.
Bryza further said there is "both good and bad news" regarding the meetings focusing on the Garabagh settlement.
"The bad news is that complicated issues are on the negotiating table and it is challenging for both presidents to accept them. But the good news is that these issues are extremely important for both heads of state."
Bernard Fassier, the French co-chairman, dismissed his previous statement concerning the participation of Upper Garabagh in peace talks as being like a party. Fassier said he had never used this expression and merely considered the involvement of the Azerbaijani and Armenian communities of Upper Garabagh in negotiations as being important.
"I did not say `the Garabagh side.` We are referring to the Azerbaijanis and Armenians who lived there before the war. Both communities should take part in the negotiating process and determine their future fate," Fassier added.
The separatist regime is seeking participation in peace talks as a party, a claim repeatedly dismissed by Baku as a blatant contradiction of international law. Azerbaijani officials have, on many occasions, made it clear that preserving the country`s territorial integrity is a must in reaching a solution to the Garabagh problem.
Azerbaijan and Armenia fought a lengthy war that ended with the signing of a cease-fire in 1994 but Armenia continues to occupy Upper Garabagh and seven other Azerbaijani districts in defiance of international law. The OSCE-brokered peace talks have been fruitless so far.

Appeals to UN
Azerbaijan`s representatives at the United Nations have submitted two documents to the Security Council and General Assembly covering the international groups` support for the country`s territorial integrity and diplomacy aiming to condemn Armenia.
One of the documents, forwarded to the UN chief by Agshin Mehdiyev, the Azerbaijani ambassador to the UN, is entitled "The report on the support of the UN and other international organizations to Azerbaijan over the conflict that took place in its Upper Garabagh region and adjacent districts." The 11-page paper notes that Armenia has carried out military aggression in Garabagh and adjacent regions and reviews the further backing of Azerbaijan`s fair stance by the world community.
The other document, sent to the UN secretary-general, is called "The report on international legal obligations of the government of Armenia, which occupies Azerbaijani territory." The 30-page paper urges a reply to three questions. First, is Armenia considered a state occupying Azerbaijani territory under international law? Second, if Armenia is an invader, what are its obligations in such areas as ensuring law and order in the occupied land and protecting human rights?
Finally, Baku asked the UN administration how the hostile neighbor would be urged to honor international law.
The submission of the two documents brings the number of papers concerning the Garabagh settlement forwarded to the UN by the Azerbaijani government in the past three months to four. Baku is expecting a swift response to its appeals.
The UN has already passed five resolutions on the unconditional pullout of the Armenian armed forces from the occupied Azerbaijani territories. Nonetheless, Yerevan is sticking to its policy of occupation and ignoring international law.