The format of the negotiation process with Armenia remains unchanged, there is progress in the negotiations, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev told TASS.
"Negotiation process also has to be supported by humanitarian actions. The fact that the format of negotiations remained unchanged is important, negotiations are conducted between Armenia and Azerbaijan as it has been for many years, – the president noted. – A new impetus has been given to the negotiation process, we very positively assessed the statement of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs of March 9, which says that a change in the negotiation format can be only with the consent of the two parties.”
According to him, Baku did not give consent to that. “We are back to a situation where we need to continue to conduct substantive negotiations. An instruction has been given to the Foreign Ministers, who are likely to meet in order to continue the negotiation process, ”Aliyev said.
“The negotiation process must be result oriented,” he pointed out.
According to Aliyev, the talks were held in a constructive atmosphere.
“We assess the talks positively, they took place in a constructive atmosphere. This is the first official meeting of the leadership of Azerbaijan and Armenia after a long break, previous meetings were more introductory and were held in the framework of international events,- he said. – The foreign ministers held several rounds of talks. The meeting is important because a new start has been given to the negotiation process on the substance of the issue.
“We discussed issues related to the strengthening of confidence-building measures in the framework of contacts between people,” continued Aliyev. – Previously, there were contacts between members of the public. It’s too early to talk about humanitarian measures. ”