Armenian, Russian, Azeri leaders agree to increase the number of monitors at Karabakh conflict zone

Presidents Vladimir Putin of Russia, Serzh Sargsyan of Armenia Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan have agreed to continue trilateral talks on the Nagorno-Karabakh settlement, as follows from the joint statement adopted after their talks in Russia’s St. Petersburg on Monday.

“The presidents noted major importance of their regular contacts on the Nagorno-Karabakh issue and agreed to continue them in this format to supplement the work of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs who were invited to the final part of the St. Petersburg meeting,” the document says.

The leaders have “stated that they reached mutual understanding on a number of issues the settlement of which will make it possible to create conditions for progress in the Nagorno-Karabakh settlement.”

“The Presidents reiterated their commitment to the agreements reached at the latest Armenian-Azerbaijani summit in Vienna on May 16 that are geared towards stabilization of the situation in the conflict zone and creation of the atmosphere capable of promoting the peace process. For these ends, they agreed, in particular, to increase the number of monitors in the conflict zone. They expressed satisfaction of the observance of the ceasefire along the line of contact in the recent period,” the presidents said in the statement.