OSCE MG representatives to visit region to arrange presidents' meeting: U.S. co-chair

"The Co-Chairs plan to visit the region before June 4," he said.

Bryza hopes the meeting of Azerbaijani and Armenian Presidents Ilham Aliyev and Serzh Sargsyan will take place in St.Peterburg.

If it does, the Co-Chairs further hope the two presidents will build on the constructive approach of President Aliyev in Prague and on the positive reaction we sensed from President Sargsian after meeting.

Over the past year, the Presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan met regularly. The last meeting took place during the EU Eastern Partnership summit in Prague on May 7. Presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan met at the U.S. Embassy to discuss the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

The next meeting between Azerbaijani and Armenian presidents is scheduled for early June as part of the economic forum in St.Peterburg.

Bryza said all three Co-Chairs are working well together. "Despite our differences with regard to Georgia, the USA and Russia enjoy effective cooperation with regard to Nagorno-Karabakh," Bryza said.

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.

/Trend News/