Turkey: No need for third party in Armenia-Azerbaijan peace talks

PanARMENIAN.Net - Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu sees no need for a third party to get involved in the negotiations on a peace agreement between Azerbaijan and Armenia, Interfax Azerbaijan reports.

"In my opinion, there should be no need for a third party to get involved in negotiations for a peace agreement," Cavusoglu said on Sunday, March 13.

"Azerbaijan and Armenia should sit down at the negotiating table and discuss (the conclusion of an agreement - Ed.)."

Cavusoglu's comments came days after Armenian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Vahan Hunanyan said Yerevan will soon ask the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs to initiate peace negotiations with Azerbaijan.

Hunanyan's announcement, meanwhile, came amid renewed tension on the Nagorno-Karabakh line of contact and the Armenian-Azerbaijani border. The Azerbaijanis have been attempting to make Karabakh residents flee their villages in the past several weeks now. A civilian was injured in Azerbaijan's shooting from across the contact line on Thursday, the Karabakh police said. The man identified as Suren Baghdasaryan (b. 1971) sustained a back injury when doing agricultural work after a shell exploded in his backyard.