Azernews.Az

MOSCOW – The presidents of Azerbaijan and Armenia issued a joint statement on the long-standing Nagorno Karabakh conflict in conclusion of their Russian-brokered talks on Saturday, Russia’s RIA Novosti news agency reported.

The statement, signed by Presidents Ilham Aliyev and Serzh Sargsyan and their Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev after the long-awaited meeting held in Russia’s Black Sea resort of Sochi, states the conflict parties’ intention to "resolve all controversial issues by peaceful means".

They agreed to investigate skirmishes along the contact line of the Azerbaijani and Armenian troops that killed more than 20 soldiers last year, under the auspices of the OSCE mediators brokering peace talks and with the aid of the OSCE chairman’s special envoy.

Azerbaijan has recently said it could use force to regain its Armenia-occupied Karabakh region where ethnic Armenians are running a self-proclaimed republic, if peace talks do not yield fruit, while Armenia has warned of large-scale retaliation if Baku launches military action.

Ethnic Armenians in Nagorno Karabakh reported the death of one of their soldiers in a shooting attack in the hours ahead of the Sochi talks. Ethnic Armenian defense sources quoted by Russia’s Interfax news agency said the soldier had been killed by sniper fire from Azerbaijani positions.

The Azerbaijani, Armenian and Russian leaders also discussed issues of implementing their joint statement adopted during the previous trilateral meeting held in Astrakhan, Russia in late October 2010. In particular, the presidents agreed to swiftly finalize the exchange of prisoners of war, which began according to a declaration signed in conclusion of the Astrakhan talks.

"The presidents stressed the great importance of their regular contacts on the issues of Nagorno Karabakh settlement and agreed to continue them in this format in addition to the work of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs," the statement says.

Following the talks, the three presidents went on to communicate informally. They headed to a cafe located at a foothill of ski slope at Krasnaya Polyana to have a cup of tea. Then they took a cableway to ascend to the Psehako mountain ridge. Presidents Medvedev and Aliyev availed of the opportunity to ski down the slope several times, while Armenian leader Sargsyan rode a snowmobile.

Further, the three leaders continued discussions at a luncheon.

The Sochi talks were the eighth trilateral meeting to discuss Karabakh settlement.

Azerbaijan and Armenia fought a brutal war that ended with the signing of a fragile cease-fire in 1994. About 20 percent of Azerbaijani territory, including Nagorno Karabakh and seven surrounding regions, has been occupied by Armenian armed forces since the war. Though the separatist regime in Nagorno Karabakh declared so-called independence in 1991, it has not been recognized by the world community.

Peace talks, brokered by the Minsk Group co-chairs - the United States, Russia and France - have largely accomplished no result so far.

The status of the Nagorno Karabakh region has been a stumbling block in peace talks. Baku says the occupied districts must be freed and Azerbaijani refugees returned home, and only after that could the status of Nagorno Karabakh be determined within Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity, while Armenia insists that self-determination is the core principle for a settlement of the dispute. The mediators are seeking a solution based simultaneously on both principles.