Parliamentary delegations from Armenia and Azerbaijan, meeting on the fringe of a plenary session of the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly (PACE), have decided to begin regular face-to-face talks on issues surrounding the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, with the support of the Assembly's rapporteurs, Trend reports citing CoE's website.
They agreed in principle to make a joint visit to the region in the near future, accompanied by members of the Assembly, during which they would also meet with the displaced population. They also agreed on the need to prepare their societies for any possible solution to the conflict.
The meeting вЂ" taking place on the sixth anniversary of the two countries' joint accession to the Council of Europe вЂ" is the first time both national delegations will meet face-to-face within the Organisation to discuss issues surrounding the conflict.
The heads of the two delegations, Tigran Torosyan (Armenia) and Samad Seyidov (Azerbaijan), said that вЂ" while the OSCE Minsk Group should play the lead role in finding any solution to the conflict вЂ" the Council of Europe had a vital supportive role to play in improving the atmosphere and dispelling misunderstandings.
They agreed to hold future meetings to try and implement the Assembly's Resolution 1416 (2005)