UN Secretary General António Guterres has welcomed the agreement reached between Azerbaijani and Armenian foreign ministers on the need to take concrete measures to prepare the populations for peace, Trend reports citing the statement issued by spokesman for UN Secretary General.

“The Secretary-General welcomes the meeting between the Foreign Minister of Azerbaijan, Elmar Mammadyarov, and the Acting Foreign Minister of Armenia, Zohrab Mnatsakanyan, held on 16 January in Paris under the auspices of the Co-Chairs of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Minsk Group,” reads the statement.

The Secretary-General appreciates the continued commitment of the sides to finding a negotiated and peaceful solution to the long-standing Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and particularly welcomed the ministers’ agreement on the need to take concrete measures to prepare the populations for peace.

The Secretary-General reiterates the full support of the United Nations for the important mediation efforts of the OSCE Minsk Group.

The Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group (Igor Popov of the Russian Federation, Stéphane Visconti of France and Andrew Schofer of the United States of America) hosted consultations between Foreign Minister of Azerbaijan Elmar Mammadyarov and Acting Foreign Minister of Armenia Zohrab Mnatsakanyan on 16 January in Paris.

The ministers discussed a wide range of issues related to the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and agreed upon the necessity of taking concrete measures to prepare the populations for peace.

The Co-Chairs plan to meet the leaders of the two countries in the near future.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.

trend.az