Foreign Ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan to Meet in Almaty

YEREVAN — Armenian Minister of Foreign Affairs Ararat Mirzoyan and Azerbaijani Minister of Foreign Affairs Jeyhun Bayramov will meet in Almaty, reported Armenian MFA Press Secretary Ani Badalyan.

“As we reported, there is an arrangement between the ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan to meet at the suggestion of Kazakhstan. It is specified that the meeting will take place in Almaty,” mentioned Badalyan.

According to Kazakhstan Foreign Ministry the country will not act as a mediator in the upcoming negotiations between Mirzoyan and Bayramov.

“We are planning such negotiations in Almaty. We are now in contact with our colleagues in Azerbaijan and Armenia. The upcoming negotiations will be held exclusively between the parties. We are not talking about the mediation of Astana, we are only providing goodwill services,” official representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan Aybek Smadiyarov said in a statement.

The representative of the Foreign Ministry recalled that the President of Kazakhstan, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, during his recent visits to Azerbaijan and Armenia, had mentioned the importance of establishing a strong and long-term peace between the countries.

Earlier, in an interview  with Armenpress, Armenian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Ani Badalyan said that Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan and Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeihun Bayramov are scheduled to meet in Almaty.