On July 11, a meeting between Foreign Minister of Armenia Zohrab Mnatsakanyan and Foreign Minister of Azerbaijan Elmar Mammadyarov was held in Brussels.
This was the first meeting between the Foreign Ministers of the two countries after the change of power and forming of a new government in Armenia as a result of democratic movement.
OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs Igor Popov, Stefan Visconti, Andrew Schofer and Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office Andrzej Kasprzyk were present at the meeting.
Foreign Minister of Armenia thanked the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs for organizing the meeting and underscored the importance of the peace process under their aegis and the need of maintaining the negotiation dynamics. The meeting was of familiarizing nature and was aimed at getting to know each other’s viewpoints.
Zohrab Mnatsakanyan underlined that the negotiation process has no alternative and in this context highlighted the importance of steps aimed at creating environment conducive to peace, building confidence, reducing tensions, as well as strict adherence to the ceasefire and the cessation of aggressive rhetoric.
He emphasized that realistic and constructive engagement of all sides of the conflict is of primary importance for the success of the efforts aimed at achieving a lasting peace. The interlocutors exchanged views on the issues related to Nagorno Karabakh conflict settlement negotiation process.
The Co-Chairs presented their upcoming plans to the Foreign Ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan. Further steps were touched upon.
