Azerbaijani, Armenian FMs met in Moscow - UPDATED

The fresh talks between Vartan Oskanian and Elmar Mammadyarov again took place in the presence of the American, French and Russian mediators acting under the aegis of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. The three co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group flew to Baku later in the day to begin a new round of shuttle diplomacy that highlights their persisting hopes for a quick solution to the Karabakh dispute.

Oskanian presented the Moscow talks as a follow-up to the Armenian and Azerbaijani presidents' November meeting in Minsk which appeared to have brought the parties closer to a peaceful settlement.

"On the basis of the presidents' meeting in Minsk we tried to discuss the second layer of some principles, some details as a first step to deepen the negotiations," he told RFE/RL.

"In that sense, the talks proceeded in a positive atmosphere. I can't say that there were serious movements [forward] in addition to what we had before. That said, I think it was a productive effort, and we must continue the talks," said Oskanian.

Mammadyarov avoided contacts with media before returning to Baku together with the mediators. The latter are scheduled to meet Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and proceed to Yerevan on Wednesday.

According to Oskanian, Aliyev and his Armenian counterpart Robert Kocharian are unlikely to hold another face-to-face meeting before the Armenian parliamentary election due in May.

Kocharian has made it clear that he will not sign any unpopular peace accords with Aliyev before the polls.

Diplomatic sources say the parties are far more likely to cut a peace later this year, before presidential elections due in both Armenia and Azerbaijan in 2008. RFE/RL

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17:48

Discussions between Azerbaijani and Armenian Foreign Ministers Elmar Mammedyarov and Vardan Oskanyan were intensive, Foreign Ministry information service officer Khazar Ibrahim stated.

He said that the discussions were all-round, some delegations, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lovrov, and his deputy Grigori Karasin also participate in the discussions, as well as the ministers and co-chairs.

Russian representatives took an active part in the discussion process. He added that the ministers also held unofficial discussions during the supper, APA reports.

Tomorrow, OSCE Minsk Group Co-chairs are visiting Baku. Then they will pay a visit to Yerevan. They are also expected to visit Khankendi.