PRESIDENT OF AZERBAIJAN AND HIS NEW ARMENIAN COUNTERPART CAN HAVE A MEETING IN ST. PETERSBURG EARLIER THIS JUNE
Azerbaijan Business Center
May 14 2008
Azerbaijan
Baku, Fineko/abc.az. Azerbaijani leader Ilham Aliyev is to take part
in St. Petersburg Economic Forum on June 6-7.
Foreign minister Elmar Mammadyarov of Azerbaijan said that options of
a meeting between President Aliyev and his new Armenian counterpart
Serj Sarkisyan are under study.
"One of the options is holding of such a meeting within the framework
of St. Petersburg Economic Forum. We expect that in the meeting
the sides will continue consultations about settlement of Nagorno
Garabagh conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan in the spirit of
Prague Process," Mammadyarov said.
Ceasefire regime has been applying between the two countries since 1994
within the conflict that has led to occupation of 20% of Azerbaijani
territory by Armenia and existence of almost 1 million refugees and
IDPs. Since then conditions for convocation of the conflict settlement
conference in Minsk, Belarus, under the aegis of OSCE have not been
created. Armenia declines to release the seized Nagorno Garabagh
and seven adjoining regions. And Azerbaijan, in no circumstances,
will agree on recognition of independence of self-proclaimed
Nagorno Garabagh Republic. Garabagh conflict is the oldest display
of separatism on the former USSR area. Georgian-Abkhazian and
Georgian-Osetian conflicts followed on the same scenario, but
Azerbaijan managed not to allow bringing of CIS peacemaking troops
in the country.