The President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan met in Vienna on Friday for the first time under the auspices of the Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group (Igor Popov of the Russian Federation, Stéphane Visconti of France, and Andrew Schofer of the United States of America), Azerbaijani Trend news website reported, citing a statement released by OSCE.
"The meeting took place in a positive and constructive atmosphere and provided an opportunity for the two leaders to clarify their respective positions," the foreign ministers of the two countries said in a joint statement on March 29, hours after Nikol Pashinian and Ilham Aliyev held a meeting in Vienna.
"They exchanged views about several key issues of the settlement process and ideas of substance," reads the statement.
"The two leaders underlined the importance of building up an environment conducive to peace and taking further concrete and tangible steps in the negotiation process to find a peaceful solution to the conflict."
The statement also said that Aliyev and Pashinian expressed their commitments once again to strengthening the cease-fire in the disputed region.
"The Prime Minister and President instructed their Ministers to meet with the Co‑Chairs again in the near future. They also agreed to continue their direct dialogue,” also said the statement.
MNA/PR