Baku, Azerbaijan, Oct. 17
By Elchin Mehdiyev – Trend:
Co-chairman of the OSCE Minsk Group from Russia Igor Popov spoke about the results of the co-chairmen's visit to the region, Trend reports on Oct. 17.
Popov said that the co-chairmen’s visit to the region will end today.
“The day before yesterday we were in Yerevan, where we met with the Armenian foreign minister and the defense minister,” the co-chairman said. “A meeting was held with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev on October 17. A meeting is being held with the Azerbaijani community of Nagorno Karabakh.”
“We discussed the situation related to the negotiation process and listened to the parties during the meetings,” Popov said. “We also discussed the results of negotiations between the Azerbaijani president and the Armenian prime minister in Ashgabat. We think that the results are not bad. "
The co-chairman also touched upon the issue of organizing meetings at the ministerial level.
“We plan to continue to organize the meetings at the level of foreign ministers,” Popov said. “They can be arranged as part of international events. The meeting of foreign ministers of the OSCE member-states will be held in December. If the parties want, we can arrange the meeting."
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, 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 Nagorno Karabakh and the surrounding districts.