ArmInfo.Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov spoke about his presentation of the agenda of negotiations with his Armenian counterpart Zohrab Mnatsakanyan at a meeting in Bratislava tomorrow, December 4.
So, on December 3, in Baku at a joint press conference with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, answering the corresponding question of the Russian journalist, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov joked that he expected more interest from Azerbaijani journalists than Russian journalists on this topic at the same time expressing gratitude for the opportunity to present his position on the agenda of the meeting.
"The expectations from tomorrow's meeting are such that, nevertheless, we will move forward. As Mr. Sergey and I have already said, we should do our best to move forward, since the status quo that exists today does not suit anyone. The co-chairs say this in almost all of their statements and comments, and because they understand that a solution needs to be found on this issue. Yes, there are certain problems, "Mammadyarov said, and in this context, referring to yesterday's statement by his Armenian counterpart on the agenda of the meeting in Bratislava.
According to him, yesterday Mnatsakanyan told reporters that status and security will be on the agenda of the meeting in Bratislava. At the same time, he added that in terms of statistics all approaches have long been known. "With regard to security, the agenda includes the definition of understanding the security term in the Armenian and Azerbaijani terms," he said, recalling several examples of various decisions, including those adopted at the Budapest Summit on the part of the peacekeeping forces from 1994.
The Foreign Minister of Azerbaijan stated that the security issue is complex, including for the Azerbaijani side, since if the RA raises the issue of security for the Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh, then the issue of security of Azerbaijani displaced persons after returning to their places of residence in Nagorno-Karabakh will be important for Azerbaijan. " "We need a clear assessment of how the security issue is seen, and we turned to mediators on this issue. But for this we need serious substantive negotiations and I hope that tomorrow we will open this new phase of substantive negotiations," Mammadyarov summed up.
In turn, Lavrov noted that in Bratislava, in addition to the Mnatsakanyan-Mammadyarov meeting, the Foreign Ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan will meet separately with the co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group. "Every year at the OSCE summit, we strive to fix on paper a commitment to the fundamental principles of a settlement, achieved many years ago, and retain our vitality and relevance. And if it works out, we would like to adopt a five-sided statement (two ministers and co-chairs), if it doesn't work out to make it for some reason, the three co-chairs will make a statement in any case, which will be fixed on paper. But still, I hope that this will be a five-sided statement, "Lavrov concluded.