Azerbaijan backs away from Karabakh agreements: Armenia FM

PanARMENIAN.Net - Azerbaijan has been refusing to adhere to agreements on the Nagorno Karabakh conflict settlement for several months now, Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian told the Co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly session in New York on Tuesday, September 20.

Nalbandian discussed the Karabakh conflict with Igor Popov of Russia, James Warlick of the United States and Pierre Andrieu of France, as well as the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office, Ambassador Andrzej Kasprzyk.

At the meeting, the sides stressed the need for the implementation of agreements reached at summits in Vienna and Saint 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.

Nalbandian stressed, in particular, that Azerbaijan has been refusing to adhere to the agreements for several months now, thus disrupting the creation of relevant conditions for continuing the negotiation process.