Armenian and Azerbaijani foreign ministers to meet soon -Pashinyan
YEREVAN, February 19. /ARKA/. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, who was in Munich last weekend to attend a security conference, met on Sunday with the local Armenian community.
In his remarks, Pashinyan touched upon discussions held with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, facilitated by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
"In fact, there was an important issue on the table: whether the sides reconfirmed the earlier agreements reached during the quadrilateral meeting in Prague, as well as during the negotiations in Brussels. To summarize, the main indicator is that the parties are sticking to these agreements. An agreement was reached that the foreign ministers of both countries will meet in the near future, to be followed by a meeting of the border delimitation commissions," Pashinyan said.
In general, he said, if the agreements reached are respected, their implementation will help reduce border tensions.
"For our part, we are determined to adhere to these agreements. The meeting of foreign ministers should obviously focus on discussing and further harmonization of the text of the peace treaty. Of course, a number of articles of the peace treaty have been agreed upon, but some others of fundamental importance have not yet been agreed upon, and we have agreed to work in this direction," the Prime Minister said.
During the meeting with Azeri and Armenian leaders on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference on Saturday German Chancellor Scholz reaffirmed Germany's support for the peace talks between Armenia and Azerbaijan, the German government spokesman said in a statement.
“In these trilateral talks, the Chancellor called for a swift conclusion to the peace negotiations between the two countries. Germany and Europe are ready to support this to the best of their ability, including through the efforts of EU Council President Charles Michel,” the statement said.
On the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference US Secretary of State Antony Blinken held separate meetings with the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan.
U.S. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said Blinken met with Aliyev to discuss efforts to reach a lasting peace agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
Azerbaijan's state-run Azertag news agency quoted Aliyev as saying that Baku "remains committed to the peace process.
The State Department said Blinken also met with Pashinyan "to discuss strengthening bilateral ties and U.S. support for efforts to achieve a lasting and dignified peace agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
"Secretary Blinken noted United States’ continued efforts to support Armenia's vision of a prosperous and democratic future for its people, as well as U.S. support for Armenia's sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity," Miller said. -0-
