ArmInfo. The date of the next meeting of Armenian and Azerbaijani presidents, Serzh Sargsyan and Ilham Aliyev, has not been specified yet, OSCE MG Co-Chair,
Ambassador James Warlick of the United States, told journalists in Yerevan on October 25. One of the subjects of the talks in Baku and Yerevan is organization of the high-level meeting to the Karabakh peace process, the diplomat said adding he pins hopes with sooner meeting of the leaders.
The ambassador recalled that the co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group are traveling to the region and were in Azerbaijan on October 22-23, where they met with the president and foreign minister of that country.
Ambassador Warlick said the mediators were in Karabakh on October 24 where they met with the "de facto leadership" and then arrived in Yerevan via Kelbajar. James Warlick said they will be meeting with the president, foreign minister and defense minister of Armenia later today to discuss the situation in the conflict zone and continue the talks for a comprehensive ceasefire.
To note, President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan and President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev met in Vienna on May 16 to advance a peaceful resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. The Presidents reiterated their commitment to the ceasefire and the peaceful settlement of the conflict. To reduce the risk of further violence, they agreed to finalize in the shortest possible time an OSCE investigative mechanism. The Presidents also agreed to the expansion of the existing Office of the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson in Office. Finally, they agreed to continue the exchange of data on missing persons under the auspices of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to which the Presidents committed during the Paris summit of October 2014. The Presidents agreed on a next round of talks, to be held in June at a place to be mutually agreed, with an aim to resuming negotiations on a comprehensive settlement.
The Presidents of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia met in Saint Petersburg on June 20 2016 at the behest of Vladimir Putin. Reaching a settlement to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict was the subject of discussion at the meeting, which took place behind closed doors. Following the consultations, the presidents of Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan adopted a joint statement reaffirming their commitment to normalizing the situation on the line of contact and giving their approval to an increase in the number of OSCE observers working in the conflict zone. The joint statement also expresses the parties' commitment to putting in place the conditions required for steady progress in negotiations on a political settlement to the conflict. The presidents made a point of their regular contacts on Karabakh and agree to continue them in such format as addition to the efforts by the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs who were invited to the final stage of the meeting in St. Petersburg.