Azeri foreign minister urges OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs to step up efforts to settle Karabakh problem
BAKU. Dec 3 (Interfax) - Azeri Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov has met in Belgrade with the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs, James Warlick of the U.S., Igor Popov of Russia, and Pierre Andrieu of France, the Azeri Foreign Ministry reports.
The parties discussed the status of the negotiating process on a peaceful settlement of the Armenian-Azeri conflict, the OSCE Minsk Group's action program for the near future, and the organization of a new meeting between Azeri President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan.
Mammadyarov reaffirmed the importance of intensifying the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs' efforts toward settling the Azeri-Armenian conflict as soon as possible in line with the four UN Security Council resolutions, within the framework of internationally recognized borders, and on the condition of honoring Azerbaijan's territorial integrity and sovereignty.
As the first essential step toward settling the conflict, Armenia must withdraw its armed forces from the occupied Azeri territories, he said.