Azerbaijan’s overwhelming objective is to get control of the land surrounding Nagorno Karabakh, a senior State Department official told a background briefing prior to a meeting between the Armenian and Azerbaijani Presidents on Monday, May 16.

“That’s very possible as part of a comprehensive settlement,” the official said.

“For Armenia, the issue is the status [of Nagorno Karabakh]. And they can get this status also as a part of a comprehensive settlement.”

According to the official – whose name is not mentioned – Azerbaijan was the one to initially oppose additional monitors on the contact line.

“They opposed any confidence-building measures that they believed perpetuated the status quo,” the official said.

After the meeting in Vienna, however, the sides agreed to take steps to install mechanisms for monitoring and investigating ceasefire violations, increase the capacity of the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office's team, also pledging to work towards a possible renewal of the negotiation process.

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