Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
Dec 29 2004

Baku Expects Progress in January Meeting of Azeri, Armenian FMs

Baku expects considerable progress at the meeting of Azerbaijani and
Armenian foreign ministers upcoming in January, Foreign Minister
Elmar Mammadyarov told local ATV channel.

`If Armenia continues to approach the issue seriously, as it did at
the Sofia and Brussels meetings of foreign ministers, remarkable
changes will be achieved in the Nagorno Karabakh conflict
settlement.’

Asked whether the January meeting can be termed as a start of the
second stage of Prague meetings, Mammadyarov said: `In general, I am
opposed to breaking the talks into stages. The meeting should be
considered continuation of the Prague process.’

The foreign minister added that the parties will set the exact time
of the meeting early next month after a telephone conversation.