Azernews.Az

Azerbaijani Defense Minister Safar Abiyev has declined his Armenian counterpart Seyran Ohanian`s proposal to meet in Bishkek, the Azerbaijan Defense Ministry spokesman said.
Eldar Sabiroglu said the reports suggesting that the two held discussions in the Kyrgyz capital last Wednesday had no merit.
He said the defense chiefs merely had an informal exchange in the lobby during a meeting of the CIS Defense Ministers Council on Ohanian`s initiative. He had approached the Azerbaijani minister, requesting to discuss some issues including the search for the persons who went missing as a result of the armed conflict between the two countries. Abiyev replied that any discussions were possible only after the occupied territories of Azerbaijan were freed and the war between the two countries ended.
The Armenian ministry`s spokesman Seyran Shahsuvarian said earlier that the two ministers had allegedly discussed ceasefire violations on the frontline and the fate of four Armenian citizens kept in Azerbaijani captivity.
Meetings between the Azerbaijani and Armenian defense chiefs have been held in the past. The last one took place between Safar Abiyev and Armenia`s then defense minister, incumbent president Serzh Sarkisian in October 2006 at the initiative of the OSCE chairman`s special envoy Andrjej Caspzyk.