Baku, Azerbaijan, Oct. 29
By Elmira Tariverdiyeva - Trend:
As a friend and a partner of both sides of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, the US does its best towards a peaceful settlement, US Ambassador to Armenia John Heffern was quoted as saying by Armenia Today news website Oct. 29.
"The presidents of the two countries met in Paris," he said. "We do everything possible and encourage mutual understanding for the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict to be peacefully resolved. Our goal is peaceful settlement through the negotiations."
A joint meeting of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan with the co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group took place in Paris Oct. 27, the official website of the Azerbaijani president said earlier.
The meeting took place at the initiative of French President Francois Hollande. Then there was a meeting of President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan.
Thereafter, a joint meeting of French President Francois Hollande, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan with the co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group took place.
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.
Armenia and Azerbaijan signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group, Russia, France and the US are currently holding peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four U.N. Security Council resolutions on the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding regions.
edited by CN