Possibility of next meeting between Azerbaijani, Armenian presidents testifies to progress in talks: U.S. co-chair

"There would be little sense in another meeting unless there had been some progress in St. Petersburg," Bryza said over telephone from Washington.

The last St. Petersburg meeting between Azerbaijani and Armenian presidents Ilham Aliyev and Serzh Sargsyan was fifth on the resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. The previous meeting took place in Prague on June 7. The first one was held in St. Petersburg in June 2008, the second in Moscow in late November and third in Zurich on January 28.  

Bryza said the next meeting could be in Russia.

"The next meeting can take place in Russia. Timing of the next remains unclear," he said.

Bryza said the next meeting will not take place at the same time with U.S. President Barack Obama's visit to Moscow.  

"I do not think presidents will meet during President Obama's Moscow visit," 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/