Azerbaijan, Baku, July 7 / Trend E. Ostapenko /
French and Azerbaijani Foreign Ministers Alain Juppe and Elmar Mammadyarov discussed the prospects of resolving the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict while in Paris, taking into account the results of the trilateral meeting in Kazan, the French Foreign Ministry said.
The agenda included the prospects of French investments to Azerbaijan and the development of trade and economic relations.
Mammadyarov is on a working visit to Paris on July 6-7. He met with French officials in the context of a co-chairmanship with France in the OSCE Minsk Group to review the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
"This visit reflects the deep friendly relations established between France and Azerbaijan. It will provide an opportunity to reaffirm our commitment to strengthen bilateral relations and diversification of cooperation," the French Foreign Ministry said.
Presidents Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan, Dmitry Medvedev of Russia, and Serzh Sargsyan of Armenia discussed in Kazan the basic principles of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict settlement. The meeting, which was the ninth in the last three years, ended without reaching an agreement on the basic principles of settlement. The sides mentioned their progress in a joint statement.
The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Armenian armed forces have occupied 20 percent 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 Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding regions.