Foreign ministers of Armenia, Azerbaijan discuss Karabakh for almost 4 hours in Brussels
YEREVAN/BAKU. July 12 (Interfax) - There is no alternative to the Karabakh settlement talks, Armenian Foreign Minister Zohrab Mnatsakanyan told his Azerbaijani colleague, Elmar Mammadyarov, at a meeting in Brussels.
"Mnatsakanyan has noted there is no alternative to the negotiating process and stressed the importance of steps promoting an atmosphere of peace, building mutual confidence, and de-escalating tensions, as well as the commitment to the ceasefire and the renouncement of aggressive rhetoric," the press service of the Armenian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
"The realistic and constructive participation of all parties to the conflict is vital for the efficiency of efforts towards lasting peace," Mnatsakanyan said.
The two foreign ministers exchanged opinions on issues pertaining to the Karabakh settlement process, the ministry said.
It was a familiarizing meeting, it said.
"The meeting between Mammadyarov and Mnatsakanyan lasted for about four hours. The ministers had a detailed discussion of the negotiations on the peaceful settlement of the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict," Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry spokesman Hikmet Hajiyev said, for his part.
The sides agreed that the talks should continue in the existent format, Hajiyev told Interfax.
"The ministers also exchanged opinions on further steps promoting the peace process and action plans of the co-chairs," Hajiyev said.
The meeting took place in Brussels on Wednesday evening. It was the first meeting between the foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan after the change of government in Armenia.
The Personal Representative of the Chairperson-in-Office on the Conflict Dealt with by the OSCE Minsk Conference, Ambassador Andrzej Kasprzyk, also attended the meeting.