Details added (first version posted on 17:37)
Baku, Azerbaijan, May 19
Trend:
Azerbaijan's Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov and French Minister of State for European Affairs Harlem Desir discussed the further steps for a full restoration of the negotiation process on resolving the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Azerbaijan's Foreign Ministry told Trend.
The discussions were held in Paris May 19.
During a working dinner, Mammadyarov and Desir exchanged views on the results of the recent high-level Vienna meeting on the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and emphasized the importance of a speedy resumption of the full negotiation process in order to achieve a political solution to the conflict.
The parties also discussed the cooperation between Azerbaijan and the EU, and the French side pledged to render assistance to Azerbaijan in strengthening these relations, said Azerbaijan's Foreign Ministry.
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.