Baku, Azerbaijan, May 27
By Anakhanum Idayatova - Trend:
The next meeting of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan is significant as the sides will be able to discuss the implementation of the agreements gained in Vienna, said Matthew Bryza, former US assistant secretary for South Caucasus and former US ambassador to Azerbaijan.
"However, I do not anticipate any breakthrough in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict's settlement following the meeting of the Azerbaijani and Armenian presidents," Bryza told Trend via email May 27.
A meeting was held in Vienna May 16 with participation of President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan, and the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs.
The next round of talks between the Azerbaijani and Armenian presidents can be held in June.
Bryza also believes that the next round of negotiations will create a psychological climate for further meetings.
He said the meetings of the Azerbaijani and Armenian sides following the escalation of the situation on the line of contact of both countries' troops in April testify to the intention to come to a mutually beneficial solution.
The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts. The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations.
Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.