Baku, Azerbaijan, May 17
Trend:
The UK welcomes Vienna's meeting between the Azerbaijani and Armenian presidents to discuss the Nagorno-Karabakh issue, says a message posted on UK's foreign ministry's Facebook page.
A meeting was held in Vienna May 16 involving President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan, US Secretary of State John Kerry, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, French Minister of State for European Affairs Harlem Desir, OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs, and Special Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Andrzej Kasprzyk.
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.