By  Trend

An agreement was reached on the continuation of negotiations between the Azerbaijani and Armenian foreign ministers next month, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry told Trend on Jan. 16.

"Views were exchanged during the talks between Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov and Armenian Acting Foreign Minister Zohrab Mnatsakanyan, which lasted more than four hours,” the ministry said. “The importance of establishing further understanding and trust was also emphasized."

During the talks, the sides discussed a number of issues, including the ways to prepare the populations of each of the parties for peace, security and sustainable regional development.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.