Sargsyan, Aliev and Kerry discussed Karabakh peace process in Newport

YEREVAN, September 5. /ARKA/. The presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan Serzh Sargsyan and Ilham Aliev and the US Secretary of State John Kerry discussed on Thursday night the current stage and prospects of the Nagorno-Karabakh peace process, the press office of Armenia’s president reported.

The trilateral meeting was held initiated by the American side in Newport in the framework of the NATO summit in Wales.

The US Secretary of State stressed again there is no other way but peaceful talks and urged the parties to take measures for de-escalation and strengthening the mutual trust. Kerry also emphasized importance of the negotiations within OSCE Minsk Group and expressed willingness to assist in seeking a peaceful settlement, says the report. Political will is required on both sides to reach a peaceful settlement, he said.

The discussion of the Karabakh conflict in a trilateral format has become a common practice over the years. Such meetings are usually initiated by the Russian president. The most recent meeting between presidents of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia was held in Sochi on August 10 and reduced the tense on the Armenia-Azerbaijan contact line. 

The Karabakh conflict started in 1988 when prevailingly Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh declared withdrawal from Azerbaijan. On December 10, 1991, a referendum was held in Nagorno-Karabakh where 99.89% voted for independence from Azerbaijan. 

Azerbaijan responded by large-scale military operations that led to loss of control not only over Nagorno-Karabakh itself, but also over seven adjoining areas. About 25-30 thousand people were killed and about a million had to leave their homes during the military operations. 

A trilateral cease-fire agreement was signed on May 12, 2004, and has been followed since then. 

The ongoing Karabakh peace process started in 1992 under auspices of OSCE Minsk Group co-chaired by the USA, Russia and France. –0--