Epress.am News from Armenia
As previously reported, the presidents of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia met in the Russian city of Sochi on Mar. 5. The parties discussed the practical implementation of the Joint Declaration adopted in Astrakhan on Oct. 27, 2010. After the trilateral meeting, the presidents continued talks during a working dinner, then visited one of Sochi’s ski resorts, according to a release issued by the Armenian president’s press service.
At the conclusion of the trilateral meeting, the Presidents of Armenia, Russia and Azerbaijan adopted a Joint Declaration on the resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict:
“Upon the invitation of the president of the Russian Federation, the presidents of Armenia, Russia and Azerbaijan met on March 5, 2011, in Sochi and discussed in detail the process and the prospects of the NK [Nagorno-Karabakh] conflict resolution.
“After the discussions on the practical implementation of the trilateral Declaration adopted on October 27, 2010 in Astrakhan, in addition to the steps specified in the above-mentioned Declaration, the presidents agreed to take the following confidence building measures:
“1. To conclude in the shortest possible period of time the exchange of prisoners of war,
“2. To strive to solve all contentious issues through peaceful means and to conduct along the ceasefire line an investigation with the participation of the parties under the auspices of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs and with the assistance of the Special Representative of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office regarding probable incidents.
“The presidents noted the importance of their regular contacts on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict settlement and agreed to continue them in the present format and further to the activities of the OSCE Minsk Group,” the statement said.
The meeting in Sochi is the eighth tripartite meeting of the presidents of Azerbaijan, Armenia and Russia.
Astrakhan hosted a trilateral meeting of the presidents of Azerbaijan, Armenia and Russia — Ilham Aliyev, Dmitry Medvedev and Serzh Sargsyan respectively, on Oct. 27 in which the parties signed a declaration (humanitarian in nature) for the return of POWs.