OSCE Minsk Group holding Karabakh consultations with Swedish govt.

PanARMENIAN.Net - The OSCE Minsk Group is holding consultations with the government of Sweden, the U.S. Co-chair James Warlick said in his Twitter post.

"I'm in Stockholm today for Minsk Group consultations with the government of Sweden," he tweeted.

In an earlier interview with APA, Russian Co-chair Igor Popov pointed out positive aspects in the conflict settlement talks. However, he said, approximation of positions remains a hard task.

"After a long break, another meeting of the presidents of Azerbaijan and Armenia was held in Vienna on November 19, 2013. They discussed a range of issues on the settlement of Karabakh problem. The two sides decided to accelerate the process of negotiations. The main directions that require special attention were determined.

Ministers of Foreign Affairs were given relevant instructions, consultations were carried out on the basis of the instructions. Elmar Mammadyarov and Edward Nalbandian met twice. The most contentious issues were discussed in details at these meetings. The negotiations show that there are positive aspects. However, it is not so easy to bring closer the positions of the parties.

Difficulties in the negotiation process correspond to the complexity of the conflict. The parties intend to move forward. We are currently conducting consultations with our French and American colleagues, ministers separately.

We met with Nalbandian on February 22. We plan to meet Mammadyarov in the near future. If we achieve options that will satisfy the parties, joint meetings will be accessible, first at the ministerial level, and then the issue of summit will be considered, as agreed by the presidents in Vienna. We will continue our consultations in the region," Popov said.