Azerbaijan, Baku, June 18 / Trend E.Tariverdiyeva /
Foreign ministers of Azerbaijan and Armenia Elmar Mammadyarov and Edward Nalbandian discussed in Paris settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, the OSCE statement said.
The meeting was attended by the co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group (Robert Bradtke of the United States of America, Igor Popov of Russia, and Jacques Faure of France) and the personal representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Andrzej Kasprzyk.
The Foreign Ministers expressed their determination to continue working with the Co-Chairs to reach a peaceful settlement, and their readiness to carry out confidence-building measures that could improve the atmosphere for negotiations, the statement said.
The Co-Chairs discussed with the Ministers the way forward on resolving the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, as well as further work on development of humanitarian contacts and the creation of a mechanism to investigate ceasefire violations, and preservation of sites of historic and cultural value, the statement said.
The Co-Chairs also reiterated deep concern over recent incidents along the front lines and stressed the need to respect the 1994 ceasefire agreement.
The meeting took place in a positive, constructive atmosphere, the statement said.
As a next step, the Co-Chairs will visit the region in the coming weeks.
The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Armenian armed forces have occupied 20 per cent of Azerbaijan since 1992, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.
Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group - Russia, France and the U.S. - are currently holding peace negotiations.
Armenia has not yet implemented the U.N. Security Council's four resolutions on the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding regions.