Trend, Azerbaijan
July 17 2009

Today’s meeting between the presidents of Azerbaijan and Armenia will
help the co-chairs to formulate a new suggestions – American Co-Chair

Azerbaijan, Baku, 17 July /Trend News, E.Tariverdieva/

Today’s meeting between the presidents of Azerbaijan and Armenia,
Ilham Aliyev and Serzh Sargsyan has provided the co-chairs with more
detailed views of Heads of State on the remaining key issues to settle
the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. This in turn will
help the co-chairs to formulate suggestions helpful for the sides to
narrow their differrences – American Co-Chair Matthew Bryza said to
Trend News by telephone from Moscow.

"Today’s exchange of views of the Presidents of Azerbaijan and Armenia
has provided the Co-Chairs with more detailed views of the presidents
on the key remaining issues, which will help us formulate proposals to
help the sides narrow their differences," – he said.

The presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev and Serzh
Sargsyan held talks in Moscow on the peaceful settlement of the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. The follow-up information for the press was
not disclosed.

July 18, there is expected a tripartite meeting of Heads of Azerbaijan
and Armenia with the President of Russia Dmitry Medvedev.

Over the last year this is sixth meeting in a format of Aliyev –
Sargsian. Previous talks between Armenian and Azererbaijan Presidents
Ilham Aliyev and Serzh Sargsyan took place June 4 in
St. Petersburg. The summit was the fifth between the heads of two
countries on the Karabakh settlement. Previous meeting was held in
Prague on May 7. The first talks were held June of last year in
St. Petersburg, the second meeting was held in late November 2008 in
Moscow, the third – in Zurich on January 28 this year.

According to Bryza, today’s meeting was a deep, constructive, and
there was detailed discussion of the difficult elements of the Basic
Principles that remain to be agreed.

"Unfortunately, the Presidents did not make any new decisions
today. But, they did build on the progress they made in
St. Petersburg, where did take some decisions", – he said.

American co-chair does hope, that the presidents will make progress in
the trilateral meeting tomorrow.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988
when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Armenian
armed forces have occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan since 1992,
including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and 7 surrounding districts.

Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. The
co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group – Russia, France, and the U.S. – are
currently holding the peace negotiations.