Karabakh ready to develop cooperation with EU: Foreign Minister

PanARMENIAN.Net - On Friday, October 21, Nagorno Karabakh (Artsakh) Foreign Minister Karen Mirzoyan, who is on a working visit in Yerevan, met the EU Special Representative for the South Caucasus and the crisis in Georgia, Herbert Salber.

During the meeting, the sides discussed a range of issues related to Artsakh-EU relations. Mirzoyan stressed the readiness of Karabakh authorities to develop cooperation with the EU in all directions, including the strengthening of democratic institutions in Artsakh, and confirmed his invitation to Salber to visit Karabakh.

Also, the two addressed the situation on the peaceful settlement of the conflict. In this context the sides noted the importance of efforts of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-chairs aimed at creating conditions for the resumption of negotiations, and, in particular, stressed the need to implement the agreements reached in Vienna and St. Petersburg.

Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan and Azeri leader Ilham Aliyev met on June 20 in Saint Petersburg to address the conflict, with Russian President Vladimir Putin mediating the talks. The Armenian and Azerbaijani presidents confirmed their commitment to the implementation of agreements reached at a Vienna-hosted meeting on May 16. To that end, they agreed to increase the number of international observers in the Nagorno Karabakh conflict zone. Also, they expressed satisfaction that the ceasefire was now holding. Prior to that, a meeting between both leaders was organized on May 16 in Vienna, with top diplomats from the MG co-chairing countries hosting the summit.