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We hope presidents will make decision on meeting â€“ Warlick

04 December 2014 12:36 (UTC +04:00)

Basel. Rufat Ahmadzada – APA. The meeting of Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov with the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs has kicked off in Basel, APA’s correspondent reports from Switzerland.

U.S. Co-Chair James Warlick told journalists that a meeting between the Azerbaijani and Armenian foreign ministers with the participation of the co-chairs will take place immediately following the meeting with Elmar Mammadyarov.

“We’ve achieved significant advancements in the negotiations over the past year. The Azerbaijani and Armenian presidents met three times and made their efforts for the protection of continuous dialogue. At the same time, there were some setbacks. We are all aware of what happened in late July and early August. There occurred violations which resulted in casualties. Furthermore, we witnessed the recent downing of a military helicopter. This in fact was a tragedy for both sides. We’re trying to bring back our previous achievements, to reach a lasting peace as a result of this process,” said J. Warlick.

The U.S. co-chair said he is hopeful that crucial steps to restore the dialogue will be taken at the Basel meeting and that it will be possible to talk about the president’s next meeting.

“We hope the presidents will make their decision about meeting. But this decision must come from them. I think you remember the Paris meeting. Both presidents had expressed positive opinions in their statements after the meeting, maintaining that they were willing to continue meetings. We, as the co-chairs, are ready to offer our support to his process,” he added.