Interfax - Russia & CIS Military Newswire
 Tuesday 11:54 AM MSK


No immediate plans for Armenian, Azerbaijani FMs' Karabakh meeting - Yerevan

 YEREVAN. May 22

No agreement has been reached on a meeting between Armenian Foreign
Minister Zograb Mnatsakanyan and his Azerbaijani counterpart Elmar
Mammadyarov to discuss ways to settle the conflict over
Nagorno-Karabakh, Armenian Foreign Ministry spokesman Tigran Balayan
said.

"The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group have said that they plan to
visit Armenia in June. Concrete dates are being negotiated. But there
is currently no agreement on a meeting between the foreign ministers
of Armenia and Azerbaijan," Balayan said at a press briefing on
Tuesday.

Yerevan's stance on the Karabakh issue remains unchanged, he said.

"The problem must be resolved by exclusively peaceful methods on the
basis of the OSCE Minsk Group's suggestions and in accordance with the
agreements reached after Azerbaijan's April aggression," he said.

Armenia is not refusing to take part in Karabakh settlement
negotiations, Balayan said.

"But Nagorno-Karabakh's participation in these talks is a mandatory
condition for reaching a lasting peace," he said.

Armenia and the self-proclaimed Nagorno-Karabakh Republic established
a ceasefire with Azerbaijan in May 1994.

The negotiations are mediated by the OSCE Minsk Group, which was set
up in 1992 to search for a peaceful settlement of the Karabakh
conflict. The group consists of Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Germany,
Italy, Sweden, Finland, and Turkey. It is co-chaired by Russia,
France, and the United States.

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