Aliyev, Sargsyan ‘narrowed differences’ in Paris

The Azerbaijani and Armenian leaders managed to “clarify positions and narrow differences on key issues” during their latest meeting in Paris last month, said James Warlick, the US co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group.

Ilham Aliyev and Serzh Sargsyan “clearly signaled to each other that the time has come for peace and that the hostility between Armenians and Azerbaijanis should give way to a new era of cooperation," Warlick said in an interview with Report.az.

"I was encouraged that both presidents want a negotiated end to the conflict.”

French President Francois Hollande hosted Aliyev and Sargsyan in Paris on October 27, urging them to start working on a comprehensive peace agreement. 

“I hope the sides will consider this step seriously,” Warlick said.

Armenia captured about one-fifth of Azerbaijan’s internationally-recognized territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding districts, in a war after the Soviet breakup in 1991.

Large-scale hostilitied ended with a ceasefire in 1994 but no peace agreement has been signed.

More than 20 soldiers were killed in August as clashes along the Armenian-Azerbaijani ceasefire line turned the deadliest in 20 years.

Bakudaily.Az