Since the Velvet Revolution, Armenia’s Foreign Minister Zohrab Mnatsakanyan and his Azerbaijani counterpart Elmar Mammadyarov had a total eight meetings, five of which took place in 2019. All of these meetings happened with the participation of and mediation by the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs. The first one was held in Paris, on January 16. It was during this meeting that both sides announced they should begin “preparing populations for peace.” The Ministers agreed to have more “results-oriented” negotiations on resolving the Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) conflict.

The second meeting between the two foreign ministers took place on April 15, in Moscow. The meeting was a starting point after the March 29 summit of the presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan in Vienna where they considered prospects for advancing the Artsakh peace process. The Ministers reaffirmed their intention to stabilize the situation in the conflict zone and continue working towards its settlement through political and diplomatic means. The sides agreed to allow families to contact their relatives who are held in custody in the respective detention centers of the parties. “The ministers also expressed their willingness to start concrete work on establishing contacts between people, including through mutual visits of media representatives,” read the joint statement.

Following the meeting, Mammadyarov claimed that during the meeting the sides allegedly discussed the plan proposed by Russia shortly after the April 2016 fighting in Artsakh. The announcement was later confirmed by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov (who was also present during the meeting), who said that the details of the proposals are confidential and that he cannot provide more information. The spokesperson of Armenia’s Foreign Ministry Anna Naghdalyan denied those claims, saying that contradictory statements that are outside the scope of the already agreed upon joint statement do not contribute to strengthening of mutual trust between the conflicting parties, especially when those statements do not reflect the reality.

On June 20, Mnatsakanyan and Mammadyarov met for a third time in Washington DC. Since the foreign ministers’ last meeting in Moscow, the situation on the Line of Contact had escalated and there had been casualties on the Armenian side. The two men exchanged views on recent developments regarding the Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) settlement process as well as clarified their position regarding the humanitarian and security measures proposed by the mediators. The Co-Chairs urged the sides “to take immediate measures to restore an atmosphere conducive to peace and favorable to substantive talks.” They also called on the sides “to reaffirm their commitment to observe the ceasefire strictly and to refrain from any provocative action, including the use of snipers and engineering works along the Line of Contact and the international border.” The ministers agreed to take full advantage of the existing direct communication line (that was agreed upon in 2018 between Aliyev and Pashinyan) in order to reduce the risk of escalation.

Mammadyarov, in a statement, noted, “It is not necessary to establish calm on the Line of Contact, and then negotiate.” Armenia’s Foreign Ministry was quick to respond, saying that ongoing violations of the ceasefire regime undermine the peace process.

Later during that week, President Ilham Aliyev announced that the war with Armenia is not over and that Azerbaijan must strengthen its military capacity. “....We have to be ready to liberate the occupied territories at any moment. I believe that day will come, and Azerbaijan will restore its territorial integrity.” Mnatsakanyan responded, “We do not believe it is possible to negotiate with one hand and shoot with the other.”

On September 23, Mnatsakanyan and Mammadyarov met for the fourth time in New York. According to the official statement, the Armenian side prioritized the importance of strengthening the ceasefire regime, reducing tensions on the line of contact and also raised the issue of citizens of Armenia detained in Azerbaijan and the need for their repatriation.

A day before the meeting between the two ministers, the Armenian Ministry of Defense reported that an incursion attempt by Azerbaijani armed forces near one of the military positions on the Line of Contact had been thwarted. According to the official statement, one Azerbaijani soldier was killed and his body was left in a neutral zone. The Armenian side did not suffer any losses. The Azerbaijani military confirmed the death of its soldier, but denied launching a military operation against Armenian positions. According to the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry, the soldier lost his way and was shot dead in front of Artsakh Armenian positions. Through the efforts of the International Committee of the Red Cross, the body was recovered and was transferred to the Azerbaijani side on September 23.

The fifth and last meeting for 2019 between the foreign ministers was on December 4, in Bratislava. According to the official statement by Armenia’s MFA, the two discussed programs to strengthen the ceasefire regime, implement confidence-building measures, and continue joint work early next year. During the 3.5 hour meeting, Mnatsakanayan spoke about the exchange of Armenian and Azerbaijani journalists as a modest step towards preparing the populations for peace. He reiterated that Artsakh needs to be a side in the negotiations.

One day before that meeting, Azerbaijan circulated a memorandum among OSCE member states outlining its position regarding the settlement of the conflict. The document once again emphasized that Azerbaijan demands the immediate withdrawal of Armenian forces from the territories of Artsakh and among other things, will only accept a step by step approach and does not see any status for Artsakh other than its autonomy within Azerbaijan (a position which is unacceptable for Armenia and Artsakh).

Also, before the Mnatsakanyan-Mammadyarov meeting, the Foreign Minister of Russia Sergey Lavrov was in Azerbaijan, where he had meetings with Mammadyarov and President Ilham Aliyev. During the meeting with Aliyev, Lavrov said that Russia wants all the agreements on confidence-building measures to be implemented. The Russian diplomat also said that he hopes his Armenian and Azerbaijani counterparts will make some progress during their meeting in Bratislava. He also talked about the possibility of achieving a compromise between the two sides. During a press conference with Mammadyarov, Lavrov said that he hopes for a five-party statement by the two ministers and three co-chairs. Following the meeting, however, it was only the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs that issued a statement, which was in line with their previous statements and called on the sides of the conflict to engage in “substantive negotiations.”

While in Bratislava, Mnatsakanyan also participated in the 26th OSCE Ministerial Council, where he spoke about Armenia’s position regarding the settlement of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) conflict. Some of his key points were that there is no alternative to a peaceful settlement, that people’s right to self-determination is a fundamental principle for the settlement, and that all three parties of the conflict should be involved in the peace process.