Lavrov: Meeting of Armenian and Azerbaijani presidents raises hope

Last year’s meeting of the presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan in Vienna raises hope, but the main thing depends on the conflicting parties, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov was quoted by APA news agency as saying at a press conference today.

“Like the other countries co-chairing the OSCE Minsk Group, Russia tries to assist with such a dialog on the Karabakh conflict settlement. The Co-chairs have done some groundwork, which is not rejected by the sides but requires additional efforts in order to reach an agreement. We are ready to assist, but will not do this work instead of them,” S. Lavrov stated. He stressed that progress during the talks depends first of all on the conflicting parties.

We would remind you that on November 19, 2013 Presidents Serzh Sargsyan and Ilham Aliyev had a meeting in the bilateral format in Vienna, followed by a working meeting with the participation of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-chairs and the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office. After the meeting the OSCE Minsk Group Co-chairs issued a statement saying that “the Presidents agreed to give a new impetus to the negotiations aimed at reaching a peaceful solution. They instructed their respective Ministers of Foreign Affairs to continue to work together with the Co-Chairs towards the enhancement of the peace process, based on the registered achievements”.

Working meetings with the Ministers on the sidelines of the OSCE Ministerial Council in Kiev on December 5-6 was indicated as the next step. The meetings took place.