Mammadyarov and Ayrault discuss Nagorno-Karabakh conflict

Azerbaijan's Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov and his French counterpart Jean-Marc Ayrault have discussed the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict in Paris.

They exchanged views on the results of the recent Vienna meeting on the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry said.

The foreign ministers reiterated the importance of the conflict sides' adhering to the ceasefire agreement and the necessity of speedy resumption of the full negotiation process in order to achieve a comprehensive political solution to the conflict.

Mammadyarov welcomed France's readiness to organize the next high-level meeting between Azerbaijan and Armenia in the shortest time possible.

The ministers also discussed the issues on the agenda of the Azerbaijani-French relations, Trend reports.

Recall, on the night of April 2 all frontier positions of Azerbaijan were exposed to heavy fire from large-caliber weapons, mortars, grenade launchers and guns. In addition, Azerbaijani settlements near the front line, densely populated by civilians, were shelled.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20% of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

The two countries signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group, Russia, France and the US, are currently holding peace negotiations.

Armenia has not yet implemented the UN Security Council's four resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.