Sarkisian and Aliyev Agree to Give New \”Impetus\” to Negotiations

VIENNA — The presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan, Serzh Sarkisian and Ilham Aliyev, have been discussing the so-called Nagorno-Karabakh conflict during face-to-face talks in Vienna.

The Minsk Group of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), under whose auspices the talks were held on November 19, issued the following statement after the meeting:

“ The Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group (the Russian Federation, France, and the United States of America) welcomed the President of the Republic of Armenia Serzh Sarkisian and the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev in Vienna, where the Presidents have arrived accompanied by the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the two countries to continue negotiations aimed at a peaceful resolution of the NK conflict. Present at the meeting were also the Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group (Russian Federation, France, United States of America), as well as the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office.

This is the first meeting of the Presidents since the Summit in Sochi in January 2012. During the tête-à-tête conversation and ensuing working meeting with the participation of the Co-Chairs and Ministers, the Presidents discussed a wide range of issues pertinent to the resolution of the NK problem.

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. They agreed to meet again in coming months.

As a follow up, the Co-Chairs will organize working meetings with the Ministers on the sidelines of the OSCE Ministerial Council which will take place on December 5-6 in Kiev. The Co-Chairs are planning to conduct a visit to the region before the end of this year.”

Sarkisian told RFE/RL after the talks that the negotiations had been “normal.”

The two leaders last met in Sochi in January 2012 in talks mediated by Russia.