“We agreed to take measures to ease tension to avoid losses in the frontline”- Serzh Sargsyan

At the initiative of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs, the meeting between the Armenian and Azerbaijani Presidents was held at the residence of the Swiss permanent representative in the UN Office and other international organizations in Geneva on October 16, press service of the President’s Office reported.

The meeting was attended by Armenian and Azerbaijani foreign ministers Edward Nalbandian and Elmar Mammadyarov, as well as the Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group – Igor Popov (Russia), Stephane Visconti (France), Andrew Schofer (USA) and Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Ambassador Andrzej Kasprzyk.

The meeting was followed by a private meeting of Presidents Serzh Sargsyan and Ilham Aliyev.

The opportunities to move forward the negotiation process over the settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict were discussed. As a result of negotiations the Presidents agreed to take measures to intensify the negotiation process and take additional steps to reduce tension in the line of contact.

The Co-Chairs expressed their satisfaction with these direct talks, which took place after a long interval. They remain ready to work with the sides on mediating a peacefully negotiated settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict.

The foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan and the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs issued a joint statement based on the negotiation results.

On October 16, Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan also had a meeting with the Armenian community representatives in the Armenian Embassy in Switzerland. During the meeting the President presented the results of talks with the Azerbaijani President.

“A few minutes ago the meeting with the Azerbaijani President ended: we have no concrete, the so-called, agreement on the ways of settling the conflict. But we agreed to take measures to ease tension to avoid losses in the frontline. I want to state that both the Azerbaijani President and I are deeply interested in this.

God willing, he thinks this way always. He as well understands very well the complexity of the issue, of course, me too, but the problem is such that there will never be an easy solution. But I want you all to be confident on one issue – there is no settlement for us which can somehow undermine Karabakh’s security. The only settlement for us is that Karabakh be out of Azerbaijan. No Armenian leader can ever make such a decision and implement it, and we will do everything for that at the same time developing Armenia and strengthening our country economically”, the President said.