Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and German Chancellor Angela Merkel discussed the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict during the chancellor's one-day working visit to the country's capital Baku on Saturday, the president's press service told Sputnik.
BAKU (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 25th August, 2018) Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and German Chancellor Angela Merkel discussed the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict during the chancellor's one-day working visit to the country's capital Baku on Saturday, the president's press service told Sputnik.
On Thursday, Merkel set out on her three-day working visit to Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan.
"Following the official welcoming ceremony, a meeting between Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and German Chancellor Angela Merkel in an expanded format with the participation of delegations was held on Saturday. The Azerbaijani president and the German chancellor have delivered speeches at the meeting. An exchange of views on the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict took place at the meeting as well," the press service said.
Merkel said that Azerbaijan was Germany's main trade partner in the region and the two countries could enhance their relations, the press service added.
"We will touch on the critical problems as well, I think. In particular, it will be the human rights and humanitarian issues. We will also discuss the issue that has been disturbing the region, the Karabakh conflict. Germany would like to assist in settling the Karabakh conflict," Merkel said as quoted by the press service.
According to the press service, Aliyev, in turn, called Merkel's first visit to Baku 'historic' adding that it would contribute to the development of the bilateral relations.
"We attach great importance to your visit. I'm sure that your visit will be successful and the relations between Baku and Berlin will continue to successfully develop in the future. We have met several times, we are having a close political dialogue. I am very glad to have you here in Azerbaijan. It is a historic visit," Aliyev said.
During her visit to Armenia on Friday, Merkel already stated Berlin's readiness to assume responsibility for the peaceful settlement of the conflict in the Nagorno-Karabakh region.
The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict dates back to 1988, when the Armenian-dominated Nagorno-Karabakh region, which was then part of the Azerbaijan Socialist Republic, announced its willingness to secede and join the Armenian republic instead. The military conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan erupted after the region proclaimed its independence and the creation of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic in 1991.
In 1994 a ceasefire agreement was reached, however, in 2016 the two sides renewed clashes leading to numerous casualties on both sides.
