From 28-30 January, the Foreign Ministers of Armenia, Zohrab Mnatsakanyan, and Azerbaijan, Elmar Mammadyarov met in Geneva under the mediation OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs Igor Popov, Stéphane Visconti, Andrew Schofer and Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office Andrzej Kasprzyk in order to discuss the further steps for the resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

It was noted that this was one of the most intensive meetings of the foreign ministers of the two countries in recent years. “The meeting of the ministers lasted for seven hours. Talks must be intensified to achieve significant results on all discussed issues,” stated on 29 January the Azerbaijani MFA spokesperson Leyla Abdullayeva. It was also noted that the Minsk Group co-chairs met separately and jointly with the two foreign ministers. 

“Over three days of intensive discussions, the co-chairs and the ministers discussed the following agenda items: implementation of agreements and proposals discussed in 2019 and possible next steps to prepare the populations for peace; principles and elements forming the basis of a future settlement; and timing and agenda for advancing the settlement process.  The co-chairs reiterated their full commitment to helping the sides find a peaceful solution to the conflict and the principle of confidentiality in the settlement process, as well as the need for creativity and a spirit of compromise to achieve a fair and lasting peace. The ministers agreed to meet again in the near future under co-chair auspices,” read the message of the Minsk Group co-chairs after the meeting was concluded. 

The Armenian and Azerbaijani foreign ministries also issued separate and largely identical statements after the conclusion of the meeting. The Armenian newspaper Zham168 speculated that the Minsk Group co-chairs expressed their concerns to Mnatsakanyan over the recent statements made by the Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on the resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict (Caucasus Watch reported).

The US embassy in Azerbaijan, as well as French President Emmanuel Macron also made their remarks on the meeting between Mammadyarov and Mnatsakanyan. “We are happy when the parties meet for constructive and substantive negotiations,”  the US ambassador to Azerbaijan Earl Litzenberger said. 

“In the settlement process of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict France plays its role within the frames of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairmanship and is one of the main guarantors for the continuation of peaceful negotiations,” Macron said. The French President added that he is in contact with both the Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan and the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, stating that ensuring a working connection between them is one of the key steps to ease tension. It was also noted that Macron made a phone call to Aliyev on 29 January. According to Trend, the heads of state discussed issues relating to the settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. President Ilham Aliyev once again drew the attention of the French President to Azerbaijan's stance on the settlement of the conflict. During the phone conversation, the presidents also exchanged views on regional security issues.

The last meeting between Mammadyarov and Mnatsakanyan was on 5 December in Bratislava (Caucasus Watch reported).