Foreign ministers of Armenia and Artsakh discuss next steps in peace talks

Artsakh should become a full party to the Karabakh conflict settlement talks, Armenia’s Foreign Minister Zohrab Mnatsakanyan said during a meeting in Yerevan on Friday with his Artsakh counterpart Masis Mayilian.

During the meeting, which was attended by Artsakh’s newly-appointed representative to Armenia Sergey Ghazaryan, views were exchanged on steps needed to mitigate Azerbaijani aggression in light of Azerbaijan’s brazen attack on civilian and military targets in Armenia’s Tavush Province that began on July 12.

The Foreign Ministers stressed the need to further strengthen the common security system of Armenia and Artsakh and the steps to be taken in this direction. In this regard, the parties stressed the need to reject destabilizing policy in the region.

Mnatsakanyan said that Artsakh’s participation in the Karabakh negotiations must run the full gamut, including discussions on risk reduction, as well as humanitarian and other key factors in the settlement process.

The two top diplomats privatized the establishment of an environment conducive to promoting peace and the resumption of the talks that include strengthening—and unconditionally observing—the ceasefire, implementing international monitoring mechanisms on the borders of Armenia and Azerbaijan, as well as the line of contact between Artsakh and Azerbaijan and fighting against anti-Armenian rhetoric emanating from Azerbaijan.