Armenian, Azerbaijani FMs meet Pompeo in Washington

Washington, Oct 24 : Amid the ongoing military conflict over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region, the Foreign Ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan separately met US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo here, according to the State Department.
The Department said in a statement that following the separate meetings with Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov and Armenian Foreign Minister Zohrab Mnatsakanyan, Pompeo urged to “end the violence and protect civilians” since the renewed clashes between the two nations erupted on September 27, with intense battles raging in the Nagorno-Karabakh region.
“The Secretary also stressed the importance of the sides entering substantive negotiations under the auspices of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs to resolve the conflict based on the Helsinki Final Act principles of the non-use or threat of force, territorial integrity, and the equal rights and self-determination of peoples,” Department spokesperson Morgan Ortagus was quoted as saying in the statement.
Taking to Twitter, Pompeo said that “we discussed critical steps to halt the violence in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict”.
“Both must implement a ceasefire and return to substantive negotiations,” he added.
Meanwhile, Mnatsakanyan told the Washington-based Voice of America radio network that the talks were “very good”, as he left the State Department, where about two dozen demonstrators, mostly Armenians, were gathered outside.