Nagorno-Karabakh and Azerbaijani officials meet for first round of talks in Azerbaijan
- 21 September, 16:59
Azerbaijani officials and representatives of the separatist Nagorno-Karabakh region met on September 21 for the first round of talks. The meeting was held central Azerbaijani city of Yevlakh a day after Nagorno-Karabakh fully surrendered to Azerbaijan following a 24-hour “anti-terror” operation launched by Baku against Armenian forced in the region.
The three-hour meeting discussed the separatist region’s future, including the rights, security of its population, future integration of Nagorno-Karabakh into Azerbaijan in line with Azerbaijan’s constitution.
Nagorno-Karabakh was represented by Davit Melkumyan and Sergey Martirosyan, while the Azerbaijani delegation included Bashir Hajiyev and Ilkin Sultanov from the Presidential Administration and MP from ruling YAP party Ramin Mammadov.
The meeting discussed the future of the region after Azerbaijan gained full control of it following a military operation in the previous day.
The meeting was followed by positive statements from both sides. Nagorno-Karabakh representatives stated that “a number of issues of mutual importance” were discussed. The Azerbaijani Presidential Administration also issued a statement following the meeting that it said was held in a “constructive and positive environment” and that was aimed at the region’s successful integration to Azerbaijan.
According to the statement, “The issues of reintegration of the Armenian population of Karabakh, restoration of infrastructure, and the organization of activities based on the Constitution and laws of the Republic of Azerbaijan” were discussed during the meeting. The Presidential Administration pledged to quickly supply the humanitarian aid requested by Nagorno-Karabakh.
The Azerbaijani side emphasized the importance of disarming illegal Armenian military units in Nagorno-Karabakh as soon as possible and also stressed that more such meetings would be held in the future.
Following the meeting, Russian Presidential Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov said that all prerequisites were in place to achieve a final peace agreement.
