U.S. Praises Armenian-Azeri Presidents' Nagorno-Karabakh Talks

Presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan Serzh Sarkisian (left) and Ilham Aliyev meet in Vienna for fresh round of talks over Nagorno-Karabakh on November 19.

The United States has praised the presidents of Azerbaijan and Armenia for meeting for the first time in almost two years.

The U.S. State Department said in a statement that the summit on November 19 in Vienna "is an important step toward restarting dialogue and demonstrates the leaders’ shared commitment to bring an end to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict."

Armenian President Serzh Sarkisian and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev met under the auspices of the OSCE's Minsk Group, co-chaired by France, Russia, and the United States.

After the meeting, the Minsk Group issued said Sarkisian and Aliyev had agreed to advance negotiations toward a peaceful settlement and to meet again at an unspecified date in the near future.