Putin To Host Sarkisian, Aliyev Meeting In Sochi

SOCHI — Representatives of the Armenian and Azerbaijani governments confirmed on August 9 the presidents of the two countries will hold a three-party meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss the conflict in the Nagorno-Karabakh region.

The three presidents will meet on August 10 at Putin’s summer retreat near Sochi.

The announcement of the three-party meeting came as Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev held talks with Putin.

Putin told Aliyev it was time to address the “sore and longstanding problems, concerning the Karabakh settlement process.”

Aliyev said after the meeting he agreed that the Karabakh problem had dragged on for far too long and said he was grateful for Russia’s interest in resolving the problem.

Putin then met with Armenian President Serzh Sarkisian where the subject of Nagorno-Karabakh again took a center place in talks.

Sarkisian described the recent hostilities in the region as a “premeditated escalation” without elaborating.

There was no word about when the three would hold their August 10 meeting but Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Putin, Aliyev and Sarkisian would together attend an international sambo (eds: a form of martial arts) tournament during the evening of August 9 in Sochi.

Meanwhile, Armenian Prime Minister Hovik Abrahamyan and Defense Minister Seiran Oganian visited the Nagorno-Karabakh region on August 9, accompanied by some members of the Armenian parliament.

Armenian government spokesman Tigran Abrahamyan said the officials were there to view the situation along the Line of Control and the fortifications of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic’s self-defense forces.