Sarkisian, Putin and Aliyev Meet in St. Petersburg

Release Joint Statement Reaffirming Commitment to Peace

PETERSBURG, Russia (A.W.)—On June 20, Armenian President Serge Sarkisian, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, and Russian President Vladimir Putin held a trilateral meeting at the Constantine Palace in St. Petersburg. According to the press office of the Russian president, the meeting took place behind closed doors and focused on “reaching a settlement to the Nagorno-Karabagh conflict.”

“Following the consultations, the presidents of Russia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan adopted a joint statement reaffirming their commitment to normalize the situation on the line of contact and give their approval to an increase in the number of OSCE [Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe] observers working in the conflict zone. The joint statement also expresses the parties’ commitment to putting in place the conditions required for steady progress in negotiations on a political settlement to the conflict,” read the statement released by the press office of the Russian president.

Earlier in the day, Putin held separate meetings with the Armenian and Azerbaijani leaders.

According to the joint statement released by the three presidents, the sides have agreed to increase the number of international observers in the conflict zone and expressed their satisfaction over Armenia and Azerbaijan respecting the ceasefire in recent weeks.

Following the trilateral meeting, Sarkisian met with OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs James Warlick (U.S.), Igor Popov (Russia), Pierre Andrieu (France), and the personal representative of the OSCE chairman-in-office, Ambassador Andrzej Kasprzyk in St. Petersburg. According to the press office of the Armenian president, during the meeting Sarkisian shared his impressions of the meetings conducted between Putin and Aliyev.

Prior to meetings, Warlick said he had hopes that they would contribute to the peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabagh conflict. “Today’s [meetings with] Sarkisian and Aliyev build trust, accelerate confidence-building, and create conditions for a framework document on #NKpeace,” he said in a tweet.

Following the meetings, Warlick said in a separate tweet that “positive steps” were made and that all parties should work towards a “negotiated settlement.”