Azernews.Az

ASTANA – Talks on the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict over Nagorno Karabakh between the two countries’ presidents to be held on the sidelines of the upcoming OSCE summit in Astana are to be joined by the leader of OSCE chair Kazakhstan, OSCE Secretary General Marc Perrin de Brichambaut has said.

The Karabakh conflict will be discussed at the summit due in the Kazakh capital December 1-2 to be attended by the heads of state and government from the OSCE’s member states and allied countries. Presidents Ilham Aliyev and Serzh Sargsyan will meet on its sidelines.

Brichambaut expressed hope that the presidential meeting will proceed in a positive environment. He said Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev is closely following the settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict and his personal involvement plays a great role in a rapprochement between the conflicting sides.

"Holding regular meetings between Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan is crucial for restoring peace in the Caucasus. The involvement of other parties in this process is important as well. I believe drawing the interested parties to this collective process in Astana would be beneficial."

In reply to a question by Azerbaijani journalists concerning the ineffectiveness of the negotiation format of the mediating OSCE Minsk Group, whose long-lasting peace efforts have been largely fruitless, Brichambaut said lack of progress indicates that the conflict is complicated.

"I doubt that the problem is about this organization. The OSCE is interested in reaching peace and we have gathered here to build our future. The fact that we have not been able to achieve result implies not inefficiency of the organization’s work, but the complexity of the conflict."

The Azerbaijani and Armenian presidents left for Astana on Tuesday.

Azerbaijan and Armenia have been locked in conflict for two decades. 20 percent of Azerbaijan’s territory has been under Armenian occupation since the two South Caucasus republics signed a precarious cease-fire in 1994 following a lengthy war.