Azerbaijani, Armenian presidents agree to meet in November
By Sara Rajabova
Azerbaijani and Armenian Presidents will discuss resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, which emerged in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan.
President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan will meet in November to discuss the settlement of the long-lasting conflict, the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs' statement said.
The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group Igor Popov of Russia, Jacques Faure of France, and James Warlick of the United States of America and the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Ambassador Andrzej Kasprzyk, traveled to the region on November 4-5 to continue their efforts to help the sides find a peaceful resolution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
They met with President Aliyev in Baku on November 4, and President Sargsyan in Yerevan on November 5, to discuss issues of importance for a Nagorno-Karabakh settlement. They also met with the foreign ministers and the defense ministers of both countries.
The presidents have confirmed their intention to meet in November 2013, to clarify their positions on a settlement and to discuss the way forward.
The co-chairs said they continue to work on arrangements for the forthcoming summit.
The co-chairs also called upon the sides to exercise restraint on the ground as well as in their public statements.
"The military action, particularly at this moment, can only be seen as an attempt to damage the peace process," the statement reads.
Armenia captured Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding districts from Azerbaijan in a war that followed the Soviet breakup in 1991. More than 20,000 Azerbaijanis were killed and nearly 1 million displaces as a result of the war.
Large-scale hostilities ended with a Russia-brokered ceasefire in 1994 but Armenia continued the occupation in defiance of four UN Security Council resolutions calling for immediate and unconditional withdrawal.
Peace talks mediated by Russia, France and the US have produced no results so far.