Department of State sees shift in Karabakh issue regulation

The Azerbaijani and Armenian Presidents have it in their power to launch comprehensive settlement talks, US Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs, Victoria Nuland said on Nov. 14 during her speech at the Atlantic Council in Washington.

Nuland called the upcoming meeting of the two countries' presidents a positive development.

It should be noted that the OSCE Minks Group's statement issued recently said that a meeting of the Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan on the settlement of Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is planned to be held in November.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan.

Armenian armed forces have occupied 20 per cent of Azerbaijan since 1992, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven 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 peace negotiations.

Armenia has not yet implemented the U.N. Security Council's four resolutions on the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding regions.