Armenian, French foreign ministers look into post-war situation in Nagorno-Karabakh

YEREVAN, January 21. /ARКА/. Armenia's Foreign Minister Ara Aivazian and his French counterpart Jean-Yves Le Drian discussed the post-war situation in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone, as well as issues of regional security and peace in a telephone conversation, the Armenian Foreign Ministry said today.

It said while speaking about the implementation of the tripartite statement of November 9 on ending hostilities in the conflict zone and the deployment of Russian peacekeepers, signed by the leaders of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia in Moscow, Aivazian drew Le Drian's attention to the need to address urgent humanitarian issues, in particular, the return of Armenian prisoners of war and civilians held in Azerbaijan as hostages to their homeland.

The two men exchanged also views on the steps taken to resolve the humanitarian crisis in Artsakh, stressing the need for direct and uninterrupted participation of international organizations in this process.

One of the key topics raised by Aivazian in his conversation with Le Drian was steps towards the preservation of the historical, cultural and religious heritage of Artsakh in the territories which went under the control of Azerbaijan and the role of specialized international structures in this process.

The Armenian minister stressed that the issue is urgent in the light of Azerbaijan's efforts to destroy the Armenian heritage and distort its identity.

During the conversation, the ministers touched upon the resumption of the peace process within the framework of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairmanship and the forthcoming work schedule of the mediator in this regard.

The interlocutors also exchanged views on a number of issues on the bilateral agenda and on intensifying dialogue at different levels. -0-