The next meeting between Foreign Ministers of Azerbaijan and Armenia will be held in Almaty during an informal meeting of OSCE Foreign Ministers on July 16-17. Although noting is promulgated officially about this meeting but the diplomatic circles of Armenia and Azerbaijan confirm this meeting. The necessity of the meeting is stipulated by the recent joint statement of Russia, USA and France. Let us remember that this statement read, “We instruct our ministers and co-chairs to actively support the sides in the overcoming process of the conflict during the informal joint meetings of the OSCE ministers to take place in Almaty.” Moreover, this meeting will take place after the visit of the State Secretary of the US Hillary Clinton to the South Caucasus. The framework also calls for the final status of Nagorno-Karabakh to be determined by a legally-binding vote and the right of all internally-displaced persons and refugees to return. More than a decade of mediation led by Russia, France and the United States has failed to produce a final peace deal and Azerbaijan has said it may use force to try to regain control of Nagorno-Karabakh. “In the framework of the visit Clinton will visit Armenia and Azerbaijan, after which the discussions launched with the leadership of the two countries, will continue,” this was stated by the official envoy of the YS State Department Phillip Crowley. He emphasized that the US has made big efforts to regulate the relations between Armenia, Turkey and Azerbaijan. Let us mention that according to preliminary data Clinton will visit Armenia on July 4.
