Azernews.Az

Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov has said immediate settlement to his country`s long-standing conflict with Armenia over Upper (Nagorno) Garabagh is impossible.
He told Voice of America radio station that it was a deeply-rooted conflict which could not be resolved overnight.
"It is for this reason that we support a stage-by-stage settlement. We can move forward step by step," Mammadyarov said.
Commenting on recent talks on Garabagh settlement in New York, he reminded that following a brief war between Russia and Georgia early in August, the Turkish government offered to establish a five-nation union called the Caucasus Peace and Cooperation Platform. The sides then agreed to hold a trilateral meeting among Turkish, Azerbaijani and Armenian foreign ministers on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly session.
Mammadyarov said Baku supported Ankara`s proposals and they were already on the negotiating table.
"At the tripartite meeting we unanimously announced that Turkey`s proposal is very interesting, that it is a positive initiative and we will work on it," he said.
Mammadyarov emphasized that the co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group (MG), which is brokering the peace process, are involved only in facilitating a settlement to the conflict, while Turkey has offered a regional platform that should be viewed in a broader sense.
Azerbaijan, Armenia and Russia have already expressed their backing of the initiative, while Georgia is yet to state its position on the issue.
The minister regarded last week`s meeting with the MG co-chairs as merely another round of contacts.
"After the developments in Georgia, some new elements came to the fore, and we held discussions to that end. Both the Armenian foreign minister, myself and the co-chairs believe the Garabagh conflict is causing grave problems for the region from the security standpoint. We have to achieve some progress as soon as possible. Therefore, we agreed in New York to continue holding discussions."
Mammadyarov said that most likely, either the mediators will further visit the region or the Azerbaijani and Armenian foreign ministers will meet in one of the capital cities. The parties have agreed that the possibility of such a meeting will be discussed in more detail in one to two weeks.