Foreign Ministry positively assesses peace talks in London

Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
April 19 2005

Baku, April 18, AssA-Irada — Foreign Ministry official Huseyn
Huseynov has positively assessed the results of the recent meetings
held by Azeri and Armenian foreign ministers with the OSCE Minsk
Group co-chairs.

“It became clear during the discussions that the parties truly support
a peace settlement and are trying to state their position on the
conflict resolution”, he told a news briefing held jointly with the
Foreign Ministry spokesman Matin Mirza.

Huseynov, who attended the last round of talks on the Upper Garabagh
conflict, said the meetings held by the two ministers separately with
the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs in London on April 15 are a continuation
of ‘Prague talks’ and that discussions were held in the same format
as before.

Speaking of the fact that the two countries’ ministers did not meet
in private, Mirza said no agreement on such a meeting was reached
earlier. Separate meetings with the two ministers were held on the
proposal of the OSCE MG co-chairs, he said.

The spokesman said that holding separate meetings or those attended
by the co-chairs is not of great importance for Azerbaijan.

“The key issue here is for the talks to continue and for favorable
environment to form for future negotiations.”

The parties have already agreed to hold the next meeting of Azeri and
Armenian foreign ministers in Frankfurt on April 27, to be attended
by the MG co-chairs. Its key goal is to make preparations for the
meeting of the two countries’ Presidents due in May.*