Azerbaijani MFA makes statement on Washington meeting of FMs

MFA reports, that the Azerbaijani side expresses its gratitude to the United States as co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group for organizing a meeting of the foreign ministers of Azerbaijan and Armenia on June 20 in Washington in continuation of earlier meetings in the same format in Paris and Moscow.

"We believe that such meetings are positive and contribute to advancing the negotiation process. The main topic of the meeting, which lasted for more than three hours, was the implementation of the agreements reached following the results of the previous ministerial meetings in Paris and Moscow. At the Washington meeting the co-chairs submitted proposals for consideration of the both sides the results-oriented proposals aimed at advancing the process of peaceful resolution of the conflict. A common agreement was reached to hold the next meeting in the same format in the upcoming month", noted the press service.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from Nagorno Karabakh and the surrounding districts.