Russia, St Petersburg, 6 June / corr. Trend M. Guliyev/ The US co-chairman of OSCE Minsk Group Mattew Bryza believes that the international mediators should improve their proposals on the settlement of the Armenian-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. "The proposals should be improved first of all on the basis of wish of both parties," Bryza said on 6 June in a briefing in St Petersburg on the results of the meeting of the Azerbaijani and Armenian Presidents.
Bryza described the first meeting of the Presidents of Azerbaijan and Armenia - Ilham Aliyev and Serj Sarkisyan, as successful.
The Russian co-chairman of the OSCE Minsk Group Yuri Merzlyakov stated that the mediators are prepared to continue their efforts for the peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, taking into consideration the anxiety of both parties. These efforts aim at achieving concrete results, Merzlyakov said.
The Foreign Minister of Azerbaijan Elmar Mammadyarov said to journalists that the parties are ready to continue talks within the peace process and discussions will be continued during co-chairmen's visit to region, likely to take place by the end of June. According to the Minister, the parties will continue joint work after they get familiar with the approaches on the settlement process.
The first meeting between Ilham Aliyev and Serj Sarkisyan, who was elected president of Armenia in February, was held in St Petersburg on 6 June. The meeting started with the participation of foreign ministers, but later shifted to tête-à-tête. The foreign minister of both countries held talks prior to the meeting of presidents.
The conflict between the two countries of the South Caucasus began in 1988 due to Armenian territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Since 1992, Armenian Armed Forces have occupied 20% of Azerbaijan including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and its seven surrounding districts. In 1994, Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement at which time the active hostilities ended. The Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group (Russia, France, and the US) are currently holding peaceful negotiations.