UPDATE - Azerbaijan, Armenia discuss Karabakh dispute in Paris

UPDATE INCLUDES RESULTS OF MEETING IN PARIS; NEW DECK

By Jeyhun Aliyev and Can Erozden

ANKARA (AA) - Azerbaijan and Armenia have agreed to continue negotiations in February as part of the Upper Karabakh dispute, an Azerbaijani news agency said on Wednesday.

"The foreign ministers of Azerbaijan and Armenia agreed to continue negotiations next month" during a four-hour meeting in Paris, the Trend News Agency reported.

It said Azeri Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov and Armenia’s acting Foreign Minister Zohrab Mnatsakanyan exchanged views on the importance of building more understanding and confidence.

Mammadyarov and Mnatsakanyan were believed to discuss the negotiation process for resolving the Upper Karabakh conflict.

The meeting was mediated by the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Minsk Group Co-Chairs Igor Popov of Russia, Stephane Visconti of France, and Andrew Schofer of the U.S., the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry said earlier said in a statement.

Andrzej Kasprzyk, the personal representative of the OSCE chairman in office, also attended.

Karabakh – a disputed territory between Azerbaijan and Armenia – broke away from Azerbaijan in 1991 with military support from neighboring Armenia, and a peace process has yet to be implemented.

Three UN Security Council resolutions and two UN General Assembly resolutions refer to Karabakh as being part of Azerbaijan.

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe refers to the region as being occupied by Armenian forces.

The Armenian occupation of Upper Karabakh led to the closing of the frontier with Turkey, which sides with Baku in the drawn-out dispute.