Armenian and Azerbaijani presidents to meet to resume talks on Karabakh issue
09.10.2017,
10:08
The Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group (Igor Popov of the Russian Federation, Stephane Visconti of France, and Andrew Schofer of the United States of America) met with Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan in Yerevan on 6 October and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in Baku on 7 October to finalize preparations for the upcoming meeting of the Presidents, including possible topics for discussion, the OSCE said in a statement.

YEREVAN, October 9, /ARKA/. The Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group (Igor Popov of the Russian Federation, Stephane Visconti of France, and Andrew Schofer of the United States of America) met with Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan in Yerevan on 6 October and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in Baku on 7 October to finalize preparations for the upcoming meeting of the Presidents, including possible topics for discussion, the OSCE said in a statement. It said the Co-Chairs were joined by the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Andrzej Kasprzyk.
Both Presidents confirmed their readiness to reengage in negotiations with the purpose of reaching a peaceful settlement to the conflict. It said also information on the forthcoming summit will be released by the respective sides in the near future.
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---
Both Presidents confirmed their readiness to reengage in negotiations with the purpose of reaching a peaceful settlement to the conflict. It said also information on the forthcoming summit will be released by the respective sides in the near future.
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---