AZERI, ARMENIAN FMS DISCUSS KARABAKH CONFLICT IN MOSCOW

Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
Aug 25 2005

Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov and his Armenian counterpart Vardan
Oskanian met in Moscow on Wednesday.

The meeting, attended by the co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group
mediating the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict over Nagorno Karabakh and
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, was held in preparation for
the August 27 talks of Azeri and Armenian Presidents Ilham Aliyev
and Robert Kocharian in Kazan, Russia.

Lavrov told reporters following the meeting that the two ministers
tried to outline the future directions of talks. “As organizer of the
meeting, we tried to make sure its participants work conveniently”,
he said.

Minister Mammadyarov said that the format of the presidents’ meeting
has already been determined. “I hope the conflict will be finally
settled to bring peace and stability to the South Caucasus region”,
he said.

Armenian Minister Oskanian said that ‘it is too early to discuss
details of the peace accord at this point’.