Azeri, Armenian leaders to meet this week - mediator
The next round of talks on the Upper (Nagorno) Garabagh conflict
between Azerbaijani and Armenian Presidents Ilham Aliyev and Serzh
Sarkisian will be held later this week, US mediator Robert Bradtke
was quoted by Armenian news website News.am as saying in Upper
Garabagh.
"The goal of my visit to the region is to begin preparations for this week’s meeting between the Azerbaijani and Armenian presidents," the OSCE Minsk Group (MG) co-chair told reporters.
"As for my personal preparations for this meeting, I deemed it crucial to visit Garabagh to hear out the views of both the population and leadership," he said.
Bradtke did not specify the date or venue of the two presidents’ meeting. Aliyev and Sarkisian met six times last year.
He noted that the U.S. is keen on achieving progress in Garabagh conflict settlement.
Following talks with Armenian leaders in Yerevan on Saturday, the MG negotiator held a meeting with Bako Saakian, the leader of the self-proclaimed Upper Garabagh republic.
The other two MG co-chairmen are due in Yerevan on Wednesday, to be followed by their visit to Baku the following day.
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 1994, but peace talks have been fruitless so far.*
"The goal of my visit to the region is to begin preparations for this week’s meeting between the Azerbaijani and Armenian presidents," the OSCE Minsk Group (MG) co-chair told reporters.
"As for my personal preparations for this meeting, I deemed it crucial to visit Garabagh to hear out the views of both the population and leadership," he said.
Bradtke did not specify the date or venue of the two presidents’ meeting. Aliyev and Sarkisian met six times last year.
He noted that the U.S. is keen on achieving progress in Garabagh conflict settlement.
Following talks with Armenian leaders in Yerevan on Saturday, the MG negotiator held a meeting with Bako Saakian, the leader of the self-proclaimed Upper Garabagh republic.
The other two MG co-chairmen are due in Yerevan on Wednesday, to be followed by their visit to Baku the following day.
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 1994, but peace talks have been fruitless so far.*
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