Armenia, Azerbaijan reiterate commitment to peaceful solution of Nagorno-Karabakh conflict

The presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan have reiterated their commitment to a ceasefire between the two countries and the peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict in a multilateral meeting here Monday, according to a joint statement.

Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev met with the foreign ministers of the co-chair countries of the Minsk Group under the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) such as Russia, the United States and France on Monday in the Austrian capital Vienna.

The leaders and foreign ministers reiterated that there can be no military solution to the conflict. The co-chairs insisted on the importance of respecting the 1994 and 1995 ceasefire agreements.

To reduce the risk of further violence, they agreed to finalize in the shortest possible time an OSCE investigative mechanism.

The presidents also agreed to continue the exchange of data on missing persons under the auspices of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), to which they committed during a summit in Paris in October 2014.

In addition, the two leaders agreed on the next round of talks, to be held in June at a place based on mutual agreement.

Armenia and Azerbaijan have been locked in a bitter dispute over the mountainous region of Nagorno-Karabakh since 1988, when the enclave dominated by ethnic Armenians claimed independence from Azerbaijan and declared to join Armenia.

Peace talks have been held since 1994 when a ceasefire agreement was reached, but there have been occasional minor clashes.

In early April, new clashes took place in the contact line in Nagorno-Karabakh, resulting in numerous casualties on both sides. Endi