Putin Holds Meetings with Sargsyan and Aliyev (UPDATED)

The Russian President Vladimir Putin was continuing his conversation with the Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev at 18:00 Baku time.

Before that, he held talks with the head of Armenia.

At the beginning of the talks, both sides stressed their priorities: Sargsyan said that it is necessary to establish a monitoring mechanism on the front, and Aliyev stressed the necessity of withdrawal of Armenian troops from the occupied territories.

Later, a trilateral meeting is to be held with the participation of the OSCE Minsk Group. -02D-

2016 June 20 (Monday) 14:41:34

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev arrived in St. Petersburg on Monday noon. In the evening there will be a meeting of the Presidents of Russia, Azerbaijan and Armenia on the Karabakh issue.

As reported by Russian sources, Vladimir Putin will first meet with the Presidents of Azerbaijan and Armenia individually. Then a trilateral meeting will be held with the participation of the OSCE Minsk Group.

Observers are rather reserved in predicting possible outcomes of the meeting. Armenian experts believe that Sargsyan will be under pressure to accept the gradual settlement plan, according to which the Armenian side should release territories around Karabakh in exchange for the opening of the borders, and the status of Karabakh itself will be postponed for the future. -02B-