NO BREAKTHROUGH IN ST. PETERSBURG MEETING OF AZERBAIJANI AND ARMENIAN PRESIDENTS – AZERBAIJANI FOREIGN MINISTER

Trend News Agency, Azerbaijan
June 11 2007

Elmar Mammadyarov, the Azerbaijani Foreign Minister, stated in
St. Petersburg, Russia, that no breakthrough was achieved in the peace
talks on the resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict meeting
between the Presidents of Azerbaijan and Armenia, Ilham Aliyev and
Robert Kocharian. The two Presidents discussed issues concerning the
major principles of the conflict settlement, Maxmedia news agency
reports.

In talks with journalists in St. Petersburg on the 10th of June Bartan
Oskanian , the Armenian Foreign Minister, stressed that the head of
states were proposed to discuss the issues which the OSCE Minsk Group
co-chairs had hoped them to achieve. At the same time the Armenian
Minister noted they had serious and deep discussions.

Oskanian stated with regret, that no progress was achieved during the
meeting of the Presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan in St. Petersburg,
and there are still disagreements.

"Earlier, the Presidents informed mediators on the essence of talks,"
he clarified.

Oskanian said that the process will continue on the level of foreign
ministers. At the same time he found it difficult to predict another
meeting between Aliyev and Kocharian.

A meeting between the Presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan in
St. Petersburg on the 9th of June lasted three hours.