Wednesday, May 18 2016 07:40

During the Sargsyan-Aliyev meeting in June, the Armenian side may undergo pressure to start elaborating a document on comprehensive settlement of the Karabakh conflict, Head of ARFD Bureau's Hay Dat and Political Affairs Office Kiro Manoyan said at a press conference in Yerevan on May 18.  

He said that the during the meeting in Vienna the OSCE Minsk Group co-chair countries' representatives accepted the Armenian side's proposals to finalize an OSCE investigative mechanism and to expand the existing Office of the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson in Office. "However, to please the Azerbaijani side, the statement of the OSCE Minsk Group also spoke of a comprehensive settlement. In addition, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, who was also present at the meeting, said about stage- by-stage settlement of the conflict, which might be unfavorable for the Armenian side," the politician said.       

Manoyan noted that the meeting in Vienna was not a regular one and it cannot be considered as part of the peace process. So, it is irrelevant to explain the absence of an NKR negotiator with reluctance to involve Stepanakert in the talks. "The Armenian side has repeatedly stressed the need to return Stepanakert to the negotiating table. The Co-Chairs do not object to it. So, it is necessary to take efficient steps to that end," the ARFD representative said. "The format of the meeting demonstrated that the co-chair countries are not interested in resumption of war and they are ready to exert efforts to prevent new military aggression," he said. 

To note, on May 16 the Armenian and Azerbaijani Presidents met in Vienna in the presence of Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Sergey Lavrov, Secretary of State of the United States of America John Kerry, and State Secretary for European Affairs of France Harlem Desir, representing the co- chair countries of the OSCE Minsk Group. "They reiterated that there can be no military solution to the conflict. The Co-Chairs insisted on the importance of respecting the 1994 and 1995 ceasefire agreements.  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 OSCE Minsk Group's statement says.