Sputnik News Service
Thursday 11:56 PM UTC
Azeri, Armenian Foreign Ministers Discuss Nagorno-Karabakh in Washington – Official
BAKU, June 20 (Sputnik) – The meeting between Azerbaijan Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov and his Armenian counterpart, Zohrab Mnatsakanyan, on Nagorno-Karabakh issue started in Washington, Azerbaijan's Foreign Ministry's spokeswoman Leyla Abdullayeva said on Thursday.
"The #Washington meeting of the Foreign Ministers of #Azerbaijan and #Armenia with participation of the @OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs & personal representative of OSCE CiO has kicked off," Abdullayeva tweeted.
Minsk Group co-chairs Andrew Schofer from the United States, Igor Popov from Russia and Stefan Visconti from France well as OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Andrzej Kasprzyk, also joined the meeting, she added.
Nagorno-Karabakh proclaimed independence in 1991, which was followed by a bloody three-year war between Armenia and Azerbaijan. The region is officially viewed as Azerbaijani territory. The pressure in the area continues resulting in occasional violence. An escalation of tensions in the region took place in early April 2016.
The situation in the region is currently monitored by the OSCE Minsk Group which unites efforts to find a peaceful solution to the conflict. The group is co-chaired by Russia, the United States and France.