BAKU

Azerbaijani and Armenian foreign ministers are set to meet in the Russian capital Moscow next week to discuss the longstanding Upper Karabakh conflict, an official statement said on Thursday.

In a statement, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry said Elmar Mammadyarov and Armenia’s Zohrab Mnatsakanyan will meet on April 15 in order to explore ways to resolve the issue.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will also take part in the meeting, the statement said.

The meeting will follow last month's meeting between Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan in Vienna.

Aliyev and Pashinyan discussed settlement of the longstanding Upper Karabakh conflict, in the meeting held by the Organization of Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Minsk Group.

Two countries termed the meeting “constructive” and “positive” and agreed to strengthen the cease-fire regime in the conflict zone with continuing their dialogue, a joint statement of foreign ministers of two countries said.

The Minsk group — co-chaired by France, Russia and the U.S. — was formed to find a peaceful solution to the conflict.

Karabakh — a disputed territory between Azerbaijan and Armenia — broke away from Azerbaijan in 1991 with military support from neighboring Armenia, and a peace process has yet to be implemented.

Three UN Security Council resolutions and two UN General Assembly resolutions refer to Karabakh as part of Azerbaijan, and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe refers to the region as being occupied by Armenian forces.

The Armenian occupation led to the closing of the frontier with Turkey, which sides with Baku in the dispute.

*Writing by Nilay Kar Onum