Tuesday, May 17 2016 09:03

 The Kremlin hopes there are reasons for cautious optimism in the Karabakh peace process, Dmitry Peskov, Spokesperson for the Russian president, told journalists, TASS reports. 

"We want to hope that it (the meeting of the Armenian and Azerbaijani presidents in Vienna - editor's note) will help to continue the sustainable ceasefire," Peskov said. He said the Russian Foreign Ministry is taking efforts towards settlement of the conflict. 

President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan and President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev met in Vienna on May 16 to advance a peaceful resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. The meeting was initiated by the OSCE MG co-chair countries foreign ministers. 

The Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, Secretary of State of the United States of America and State Secretary for European Affairs of France released a joint statement on May 16.   

"The Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Sergey Lavrov, Secretary of State of the United States of America John Kerry, and State Secretary for European Affairs of France Harlem Desir, representing the co-chair countries of the OSCE Minsk Group, met today with President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan and President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev to advance a peaceful resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

They reiterated that there can be no military solution to the conflict. The Co-Chairs insisted on the importance of respecting the 1994 and 1995 ceasefire agreements. 
The Presidents reiterated their commitment to the ceasefire and the peaceful settlement of the conflict. To reduce the risk of further violence, they agreed to finalize in the shortest possible time an OSCE investigative mechanism. The Presidents also agreed to the expansion of the existing Office of the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson in Office.  Finally, they agreed to continue the exchange of data on missing persons under the auspices of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to which the Presidents committed during the Paris summit of October 2014.

The Presidents agreed on a next round of talks, to be held in June at a place to be mutually agreed, with an aim to resuming negotiations on a comprehensive settlement," reads the statement.