Editor's note: Merkel and Sargsyan's statement were added in the article
Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel and Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan discussed the settlement of the Karabakh problem in Berlin today, the agency ArmToday said.
"Germany supports the efforts of the OSCE Minsk Group," Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel said in Berlin at a joint press conference with Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan.
Merkel also stressed that the settlement of the conflict is of great importance for the region.
Germany intends to contribute to finding solutions to the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and settlement in the Caucasus region, Merkel stressed after meeting with Sargsyan ITAR-TASS reported. Sargsyan is on his first official visit to Germany.
"Where we can help, we want to do it," Merkel said. She also hoped to improve relations between Armenia and Turkey.
"We very much welcomed that the Armenia- Turkey relations were in motion some time ago. Unfortunately, now everything has once again lost force," she said. The Chancellor added that the problem can be resolved in the case, "if the problem of Nagorno-Karabakh is solved".
Sargsyan expressed the opinion that this process "can only be developed if there is a goodwill. "We did not see this faith on the Turkish side," he said. " Turkey's current policy does not help to make our relations resumed.'
The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Armenian armed forces have occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan since 1992, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and 7 surrounding districts.
Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group - Russia, France, and the U.S. - are currently holding the peace negotiations.
Armenia has not yet implemented the U.N. Security Council's four resolutions on the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh region and the occupied territories.