Diplomats from France, Russia and the United States who are involved in mediation efforts between Armenia and Azerbaijan to help bring about a resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict have issued a statement at the end of their short visit to the region in which they said that "both Presidents confirmed their readiness to re-engage in negotiations with the purpose of reaching a peaceful settlement to the conflict". A meeting between President ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan and President Serzh Sargsyan of Armenia is now likely to take place soon, although no details have been released so far.
The mediators issued their statement after meeting with President Aliyev in Baku on Saturday morning (7 October). Igor Popov of the Russian Federation, Stephane Visconti of France, and Andrew Schofer of the United States of America are the current co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Process that is mandated by the international community to mediate between the two sides. They were accompanied by the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Andrzej Kasprzyk.
On Friday, 6 October, the mediators also met with Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan in Yerevan (read more)
In their statement the mediators said that in the meetings they discussed "preparations for the upcoming meeting of the Presidents, including possible topics for discussion." The statement said that "information on the forthcoming summit will be released by the respective sides in the near future."
source: commonspace.eu
photo: Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev with the international mediators from the OSCE Minsk process in Baku on 7 October 2017 (picture courtesy of the press service of the president of Azerbaijan)
