Yerevan July 16
Marianna Mkrtchyan. During Brussels meeting of Armenia and Azerbaijan's Foreign Ministers the issue of Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani leader Ilham Aliyev's meeting was not raised, Spokesperson of the Armenian Foreign Ministry Tigran Balayan stated at the briefing in Yerevan on July 16. Talking in general about the Mnatsakanyan-Mammadyarov meeting, the representative of the Armenian foreign ministry has once again recalled that it was a familiarization meeting and no specific agreements were reached during the meeting. At the same time Balayan stressed that the sides expressed readiness to continue contacts.
At the same time, the Armenian Foreign Ministry Spokesman noted that at on unofficial level, opinions were voiced about the possible impact of the forthcoming electoral processes in Armenia on the negotiation process, and the need to take a break for this period. "We consider that the pre-election period can not be an obstacle to the negotiation process, which should proceed on the basis of the proposals of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs, and they can not be an obstacle in creating an atmosphere of peace and ensuring progress. And our position is known and has been voiced repeatedly, in particular, that the most important issue is to ensure the security of Artsakh and its status, and our priority is to ensure these conditions during the negotiations, "said Balayan.
The representative of the Armenian Foreign Ministry also informed that the issue of the implementation of the agreements reached at the high-level in Vienna and St. Petersburg was raised at the meeting. "The matter concerns an extension of the mandate of the Office of the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office and the introduction of confidence-building mechanisms on the contact line of the troops – an agreement that Azerbaijan has been obstructing for two years," concluded Balayan.