Azernews.Az

The Azerbaijani government will continue talks on settling the Upper (Nagorno) Garabagh conflict regardless of who will become Armenia's next president, a senior official has said.
"The critical issue for Azerbaijan is not who is elected president there," the head of the President's Office socio-political department, Ali Hasanov, said. "That makes no difference to us. Baku is more interested in the negotiating process on the Garabagh settlement."
According to preliminary results, Prime Minister Serzh Sarkisian won the February 19 presidential election in Armenia, gaining nearly 53 percent of the votes.
Hasanov said Azerbaijan would continue working with the new Armenian leader to free Azerbaijani territories from occupation and to achieve the return of displaced persons home.
However, Deputy Foreign Minister Araz Azimov said the Azerbaijani side was not ready to hold a meeting with the new Armenian president yet, as this required certain preparations. He said further peace talks should be initiated by the mediating OSCE Minsk Group co-chairmen.
"The initiative to continue discussions should be put forth by the co-chairs. Further steps will be determined afterwards," Azimov said.
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. Peace talks have been fruitless so far and refugees remain stranded.