In Baku and Yerevan, both presidents reiterated their commitment to continue their discussions, with the objective to make further progress toward reaching an agreement on the basic principles for the peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, statement in the website of the Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group says. “They accepted the proposal of the Co-Chairs to organize their next bilateral meeting, the sixth one this year, before the end of November at a time and place to be confirmed,” the statement says.

The OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs (Ambassador Yuri Merzlyakov, the Russian Federation; Ambassador Bernard Fassier, France; Ambassador Robert Bradtke, United States) visited Azerbaijan and Armenia on Nov. 4-6. They met Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev on November 5 in Baku before traveling to Yerevan on November 6 to meet Armenian President Serzh Sargsian. They returned to Baku November 6 for the second meeting with President Aliyev, the statement says.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Armenian armed forces have occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan since 1992, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and 7 surrounding districts. Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group – Russia, France, and the U.S. – are currently holding the peace negotiations.