Azernews.Az

BAKU – Azerbaijani and Armenian presidents are expected to hold their next meeting to discuss the Nagorno Karabakh conflict with the Russian leader’s mediation in June or July in Moscow, an OSCE mediator has said.

Speaking to journalists before leaving Baku on Friday, the Russian co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group, Igor Popov, also said the three countries’ foreign ministers are due to hold a trilateral meeting by the end of April, adding that its venue will be determined by the ministers.

"According to a decision made in Sochi, the 2+1 format is beneficial and should be continued," Popov said.

The presidential meeting due in the Russian capital will be the ninth one among the Azerbaijani, Armenian and Russian leaders.

After the talks in Russia’s Black Sea resort of Sochi on March 5 held with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev’s mediation, Presidents Ilham Aliyev and Serzh Sargsyan issued a joint statement pledging to "resolve all controversial issues by peaceful means". They agreed to investigate skirmishes along the contact line of the Azerbaijani and Armenian troops with the aid of the OSCE mediators and to swiftly finalize the exchange of prisoners of war.

The Karabakh conflict emerged in 1988 due to Armenia’s territorial claims. Azerbaijan and Armenia waged a brutal war which claimed some 30,000 lives and displaced about a million Azerbaijanis. About 20 percent of Azerbaijani territory has been under the occupation of the Armenian armed forces since a ceasefire was signed in 1994. Peace talks, brokered by the United States, Russia and France through the Minsk Group, have been largely fruitless so far.