Artsakh MFA: Peace Talks Must Continue with ‘Direct Participation’ of Artsakh

STEPANAKERT, Artsakh (A.W.)—The Artsakh Ministry of Foreign Affairs reiterated its call to directly participate in the negotiation talks for the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabagh (Artsakh) conflict following the meeting between the presidents and foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan in Geneva.

“The meeting of the presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan on Oct. 16 is very important from the point of view of creating conditions for the activization of the negotiation process, which was seriously damaged as a result of the aggression against Artsakh unleashed by Azerbaijan in April 2016,” read a part of the statement released by the Artsakh Foreign Ministry.

The ministry went on to say that the strict adherence to the agreements of 1994 and 1995, as well as the realization of the earlier-reached agreements are necessary in the negotiation process. The statement noted the importance of the implementation of investigation mechanisms on the line of contact (LoC), as well as the expansion of the Office of Personal Representative of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Chairperson-in-Office and the enhancement of its monitoring capacities.

“We believe that the restoration of full-fledged talks with the direct participation of the Republic  of Artsakh at all the stages should be another step on the way to achieving real progress in the settlement process of the Azerbaijani-Karabagh conflict,” the statement concluded.

The presidents and foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan met in Geneva on Oct. 16 under the auspices of the co-chairs of OSCE Minsk Group.

Minsk Group Co-Chairs Igor Popov (Russia), Stephane Visconti (France), and Andrew Schofer (U.S.), as well as Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Andrzej Kasprzyk, also participated in the meeting, which took place in a “constructive atmosphere,” according to a joint statement released by the foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan and the Minsk Group co-chairs.