The de facto authorities of the self-proclaimed Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR) have released details of the 1 March meeting between Karabakh Armenian representatives and Azerbaijani authorities, in the presence of Russian peacekeepers in Khojaly.
In a statement released on Friday (3 March) by the NKR Security Council about the meeting, which was led by the Secretary of the Security Council Samvel Shahramanyan, the establishment of a working group to discuss "urgent humanitarian issues with the Azerbaijani side" was confirmed.
The statement confirmed that the meeting was held at 11am at the headquarters of the Russian peacekeeping mission, attended by the commander of troops Major General Andrey Volkov, and Azerbaijani MP Ramin Mammadov.
There were four items on the meeting agenda:
- "Ensuring uninterrupted supply of natural gas to the Republic of Artsakh and excluding further disruption of the gas supply"
- "Ensuring the possibility of inspecting the section of the only high-voltage line entering Artsakh from the Republic of Armenia, which is under the control of the Azerbaijani armed forces, in order to carry out restoration works by the specialists of 'Artsakh Energy' CJSC and restore the electricity supply to the Republic of Artsakh"
- "Conducting a one-time visual tour by an Azerbaijani specialized group on the territories of Kashen and Drmbon mines"
- "Complete opening of the Stepanakert-Goris highway"
The statement released by the de facto NKR authorities accused the head of the Azerbaijani group of straying from the agenda and trying "to lead the conversation towards the need for integration of Artsakh people with Azerbaijan", but it also noted that the discussion broadly focused on the "four specific issues and the search for solutions", and that "the subsequent course of the meeting was fully complied with the framework defined by the agenda".
"As a result of the discussion of all the above-mentioned issues, specific agreements were reached, which the Azerbaijani side undertook to report to the higher authorities, and in the coming days to inform the Artsakh side about the results through the peacekeeping mission," the statement added.
Also announced was an agreement to establish a "stable two-way communication mechanism between the parties".