June 28, 2016 - 17:14 AMT
Russian, French FMs to discuss Karabakh settlement June 29

Russian and French Foreign Ministers will on Wednesday, June 29 discuss the Nagorno Karabakh conflict, a diplomat said.

“Sergey Lavrov and Jean-Marc Ayrault will discuss steps that both states will have to agree on as OSCE Minsk Group co-chairing countries, taking into consideration the agreements reached at meetings in Vienna and Saint Petersburg,” Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.

Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan and Azeri leader Ilham Aliyev met on June 20 in Saint Petersburg to address the conflict, with Russian President Vladimir Putin mediating the talks. The Armenian and Azerbaijani presidents confirmed their commitment to the implementation of agreements reached at a Vienna-hosted meeting on May 16. To that end, they have agreed to increase the number of international observers in the Nagorno Karabakh conflict zone. Also, they expressed satisfaction that the ceasefire was now holding.

Prior to that, a meeting between both leaders was organized on May 16 in Vienna, with top diplomats from the MG co-chairing countries hosting the summit.

Besides, Zakharova said,Lavrov and Ayrault will discuss the situation in Syria and Ukraine, as well as Britain’s exit from the European Union.