Mammadyarov�s Statements Correspond to 3 + 2 Format - Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry

Baku / 19.04.19 / Turan: The Foreign Ministry of Azerbaijan has rejected Yerevan"s assertions that Baku has violated the confidentiality of negotiations.

On April 17, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov announced the preparation of a new meeting of the heads of Foreign Ministries of the two countries with the participation of the US Secretary of State. He also reported on the discussion in Moscow on April 15 by the Ministers of a certain 2016 settlement program.

The representative of the Foreign Ministry of Armenia refuted the words of Mammadyarov, stating that he disseminated information about the yet un-agreed meeting, and in fact accused the Azerbaijani side of distorting the content of the talks.

In turn, the official representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan, Leyla Abdullayeva, stated that the claims of the Armenian side are not valid.

"The comments of the Azerbaijani Foreign Minister on the meeting with the Armenian side or the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs and the steps taken towards a peaceful settlement of the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict are carried out in full accordance with the general statements adopted in the 3 + 2 format.

These statements openly support the need to prepare the people of both countries for peace. The leadership of Armenia should understand that the status quo is unacceptable, not sustainable, and this process cannot last forever," she said.

Baku called on the Armenian Foreign Ministry "to join the statements in the 3 + 2 format, to be more pragmatic, and show respect and support for the activities of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs."

"If the Armenian side talks about building trust and creating sincerity in the negotiations, then, like the Azerbaijani side, it should try to create mutual trust and express comments in accordance with this," Abdullayeva summarized. -06D------