Armenian and Azerbaijani foreign ministers to meet in mid-January
11.01.2018,
19:13
Armenian and Azerbaijani foreign ministers Edward Nalbandian and Elmar Mammadyarov are set to meet in a few days, Armenian deputy foreign minister Shavarsh Kocharyan told journalists on Thursday.
YEREVAN, January 11. /ARKA/. Armenian and Azerbaijani foreign ministers Edward Nalbandian and Elmar Mammadyarov are set to meet in a few days, Armenian deputy foreign minister Shavarsh Kocharyan told journalists on Thursday.
"The meeting is scheduled for mid-January, but the Armenian foreign ministry can not provide information on the exact date and place of this meeting," he said. Kocharyan also said that at this stage it is difficult to expect progress in the Karabakh conflict negotiations.
"It is difficult to talk about progress, as there is no mutual trust between the parties,’ he said adding that Armenia is committed to introducing mechanisms that will contribute to the formation of trust.
According to him, one of these conditions is compliance with the ceasefire. Kocharyan stressed that the meetings are primarily aimed at solving this problem that will reduce tension on the contact line.
The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict erupted into armed clashes after the collapse of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s as the predominantly Armenian-populated enclave of Azerbaijan sought to secede from Azerbaijan and declared its independence backed by a successful referendum.
On May 12, 1994, the Bishkek cease-fire agreement put an end to the military operations. A truce was brokered by Russia in 1994, although no permanent peace agreement has been signed. Since then, Nagorno-Karabakh and several adjacent regions have been under the control of Armenian forces of Karabakh.
Nagorno-Karabakh is the longest-running post-Soviet era conflict and has continued to simmer despite the relative peace of the past two decades, with snipers causing tens of deaths a year. On April 2, 2016, Azerbaijan launched military assaults along the entire perimeter of its contact line with Nagorno-Karabakh. Four days later a cease-fire was reached. -0-
"The meeting is scheduled for mid-January, but the Armenian foreign ministry can not provide information on the exact date and place of this meeting," he said. Kocharyan also said that at this stage it is difficult to expect progress in the Karabakh conflict negotiations.
"It is difficult to talk about progress, as there is no mutual trust between the parties,’ he said adding that Armenia is committed to introducing mechanisms that will contribute to the formation of trust.
According to him, one of these conditions is compliance with the ceasefire. Kocharyan stressed that the meetings are primarily aimed at solving this problem that will reduce tension on the contact line.
The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict erupted into armed clashes after the collapse of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s as the predominantly Armenian-populated enclave of Azerbaijan sought to secede from Azerbaijan and declared its independence backed by a successful referendum.
On May 12, 1994, the Bishkek cease-fire agreement put an end to the military operations. A truce was brokered by Russia in 1994, although no permanent peace agreement has been signed. Since then, Nagorno-Karabakh and several adjacent regions have been under the control of Armenian forces of Karabakh.
Nagorno-Karabakh is the longest-running post-Soviet era conflict and has continued to simmer despite the relative peace of the past two decades, with snipers causing tens of deaths a year. On April 2, 2016, Azerbaijan launched military assaults along the entire perimeter of its contact line with Nagorno-Karabakh. Four days later a cease-fire was reached. -0-
