BAKU. April 19
Azerbaijan is urging Armenia to show pragmatism in the Karabakh settlement process and to support the activity of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chaired by Russia, France, and the United States, Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry press secretary Leila Abdullayeva said in a statement on Friday.
"We are inviting the Armenian Foreign Ministry to join the statements made in the 3+2 format (the Minsk Group co-chairs, as well as Azerbaijan and Armenia), to be pragmatic, and to have faith in and support the activity of the OSCE Minsk Group," the statement said.
Armenia and Azerbaijan should be working to build trust, it said.
"They [Armenia] should also participate in the effort toward peace, stability, and prosperity in the region," the statement said.
As regards the recent statement by the Armenian Foreign Ministry, Abdullayeva said that the commentary made by Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov on the coming discussion of the Karabakh settlement with Armenia "fully complies with the joint statements released in the 3+2 format."
"These statements clearly speak in favor of preparing people in both countries for peace. The Armenian administration has to realize that the status quo is unacceptable, unstable, and cannot last forever," she said.
It was reported on Thursday with reference to Mammadyarov that the United States had invited the foreign ministers of Azerbaijan and Armenia to hold another meeting on the Karabakh settlement process in Washington DC.
Meanwhile, Armenian Foreign Ministry press secretary Anna Nagdalyan told Interfax that the ministers might hold their next meeting in a country co-chairing the OSCE Minsk Group. "The possibility of a meeting in a co-chair country is actually being discussed. However, unilateral announcements and public discussions should be avoided as long as the process continues," Nagdalyan said.
Regarding the Azerbaijani foreign minister's report on the discussion of Russia's proposal of 2016 at the Moscow meeting on April 15, she said that the sides had posted a relevant statement at the end of their meeting.
"The document specified the subjects discussed. The purpose of joint statements is to summarize the wording coordinated between parties. Any statements exceeding or contradicting the coordinated wording do not help build mutual trust, especially if such statements are imaginary and unrealistic," Nagdalyan said.
There are no negotiations based on any program at the moment, she said.