AZERBAIJANI AND ARMENIAN FMS TO MEET IN EUROPE
E. Ostapenko
Trend
May 6 2010
Azerbaijan
The OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs are expected to hold a regular
meeting between the Armenian and Azerbaijani foreign ministers in
Europe to discuss the next actions in the negotiation process on
Nagorno-Karabakh.
A OSCE Minsk Group meeting was held Wednesday in Vienna in a closed
format. At the briefing, the group’s chairmen informed OSCE Minsk
Group representatives about the negotiation process to resolve the
Karabakh conflict, and future actions.
They underscored the commitment of all parties to making progress
on elaborating a settlement based on the Madrid Principles, as well
as elements contained in the joint statement issued by presidents of
the co-chair countries at the L’Aquila Summit July 10, 2009.
At a meeting in Vienna, Russian Co-Chairman Yuri Merzlyakov formally
handed over his post to Igor Popov, who was recently appointed to
this position.
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.
Armenia has not yet implemented the U.N. Security Council’s resolutions
on the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh region and the occupied
territories.