Paris is ready to provide a platform for new negotiations on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said, RIA Novosti reported.
Ayrault made the remarks following the meeting with his colleague Sergey Lavrov in Paris.
“We also discussed the situation in Azerbaijan’s Nagorno-Karabakh region,” he said. “Sergey Lavrov informed me about the outcome of negotiations in Saint Petersburg between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his colleagues from Azerbaijan and Armenia. I reminded that we are ready to provide a platform for new discussions in Paris.”
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.