YEREVAN (RFE/RL) — The foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan met late on Sunday, October 2, for a second time after last month’s large-scale fighting on the border between their countries.
The direct talks held in Geneva appeared to focus on an Armenian-Azerbaijani peace treaty sought by Baku. Neither side reported concrete agreements on this issue.
The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry said Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov “brought the Armenian side’s attention” to five key elements which Baku wants to be at the heart of the peace accord. They include a mutual recognition of each other’s territorial integrity, something which would presumably uphold Azerbaijani sovereignty over Karabakh.
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan insisted on Friday that despite championing the territorial integrity of states, Azerbaijan remains reluctant to recognize Armenia’s current borders. He said at the same time that the Geneva meeting will mark the beginning of substantive negotiations on the peace treaty.
According to the Armenian readout of the meeting, Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan also spoke with Bayramov about “ensuring the rights and security guarantees of Nagorno-Karabakh’s Armenians, including through the creation of a mechanism for discussions between Baku and Stepanakert.”
Mirzoyan also demanded the withdrawal of Azerbaijani forces from Armenian border areas occupied during the September 13-14 hostilities and last year.
