OSCE: Azerbaijani, Armenian Presidents agree to advance negotiations toward peaceful settlement of Nagorno-Karabakh conflict

Details added (first version posted at 19:18) Baku, Azerbaijan, Nov. 19 By Elmira Tariverdiyeva - Trend: Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian President Serzh Sargsian agreed to advance negotiations toward a peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, the OSCE Minsk Group statement, posted on its website said on Nov. 19. During their private one-on-one meeting and the working session afterward with the Co-Chairs and the Ministers, the Presidents discussed a broad range of issues related to the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, the statement said. "The Presidents agreed to advance negotiations toward a peaceful settlement. They instructed their Foreign Ministers to continue to cooperate with the Co-Chairs to build on the work to date with the aim of intensifying the peace process. They agreed to meet again in the months ahead," the statement read. The Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group (the Russian Federation, France, and the United States of America) welcomed President Ilham Aliyev of the Republic of Azerbaijan and President Serzh Sargsian of the Republic of Armenia to Vienna to advance discussions on the peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, accompanied by their Foreign Ministers, the statement said. They were joined by the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson in Office. This was the Presidents' first meeting since their January 2012 summit in Sochi. As a next step, the Co-Chairs are organizing working sessions with the Ministers on the margins of the OSCE Ministerial Council, which will take place on December 5-6 in Kyiv. The Co-Chairs plan to visit the region before the end of this year. The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Armenian Armed Forces have occupied 20 per cent of Azerbaijan since 1992, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts. Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group, Russia, France and the U.S. are currently holding peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented the U.N. Security Council's four resolutions on the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding regions.