Azerbaijan okays "3+2" format meeting of FMs within OSCE Ministerial Council

Baku, Azerbaijan, Nov. 17

Azerbaijan accepted the proposal of France for a meeting of foreign ministers in the format of "3 + 2" in the framework of the OSCE Ministerial Council in Hamburg on December 9.

Azerbaijan’s foreign minister Elmar Mammadyarov made this statement during the meeting with his French counterpart Jean-Marc Ayrault on Nov. 17, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry told Trend.

During the meeting, the ministers also discussed the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. They noted the importance of continuing the negotiation process for the early achievement of a political settlement of the conflict, the ministry said.

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.