There is increasing hope that a meeting between the Presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan may take place in the coming weeks. Ambassador Igor Popov, the Russian diplomat who co-chairs the OSCE Minsk Process said that the Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliev has now agreed to the meeting. Popov, accompanied by the other two co-Chair of the Minsk Process, Ambassador Faure of France and Ambassador Warlick of the United States met Aliev on Monday at the start of a diplomatic mission to the region.
The diplomats hope that a meeting between the two Presidents will bring the negotiations on finding a peaceful solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh problem back on track. The three co-Chair are now in Yerevan where they will meet with President Sargsyan. A formal announcement on a meeting between the two Presidents will be made after that meeting.
Commonspace.eu political editor said in a comment that it is far too early to speak of a breakthrough. "The fact that a meeting will take place is however a positive sign, and can be the start of a new substantive phase in the negotiations. Much will depend on whether the sides approach the negotiations constructively, and with a willingness to compromise. The two Presidents have held direct talks before so they are already used to each other. Expectations from what can be achieved from such a e meeting however need to remain modest."
source: commonspace.eu
photo: President Aliev in meeting with the co-Chair of the OSCE MInsk Process in baku on 4 November 2013. (picture courtesy pof the Press Service of the President of Azerbaijan).
