The OSCE Minsk Group welcomes Russian President Vladimir Putin's initiative to hold the meetings of the Presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan, U.S co-chairman of the OSCE Minsk Group James Warlick twitted.
"We welcome Russian President Vladimir Putin's initiative to meet with the Presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan," Warlick twitted. "We urge strict respect for the ceasefire."
The Presidents of Azerbaijan, Russia and Armenia will meet in Sochi on August 8-9.
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 two countries 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.