The President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and the Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan met on Friday, March 29 in Vienna for the first time under the auspices of the Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group (Igor Popov of the Russian Federation, Stéphane Visconti of France, and Andrew Schofer of the United States of America). The meeting was also attended by Foreign Ministers Zohrab Mnatsakanyan and Elmar Mammadyarov. Andrzej Kasprzyk, the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, also participated in the meeting.

The meeting took place in a positive and constructive atmosphere and provided an opportunity for the two leaders to clarify their positions, according to a joint statement issued after the meeting. They exchanged views about several key issues of the settlement process and ideas of substance.

The two leaders underlined the importance of building up an environment conducive to peace and taking further concrete and tangible steps in the negotiation process to find a peaceful solution to the conflict.

Recalling their conversation in Dushanbe, the leaders recommitted to strengthening the ceasefire and improving the mechanism for direct communication. They also agreed to develop a number of measures in the humanitarian field.

The Prime Minister and President instructed their Ministers to meet with the Co‑Chairs again in the near future. They also agreed to continue their direct dialogue.