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Armenia Hopes Azerbaijan Meeting Will Bring Breakthrough

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  • Armenia Hopes Azerbaijan Meeting Will Bring Breakthrough

    ARMENIA HOPES AZERBAIJAN MEETING WILL BRING BREAKTHROUGH

    RIA Novosti
    June 4 2008
    Russia

    YEREVAN, June 4 (RIA Novosti) - Armenia's foreign minister expressed
    hope Wednesday that a meeting between the presidents of Armenia and
    Azerbaijan in St. Petersburg would bring a breakthrough in the Nagorny
    Karabakh peace process.

    The first meeting between Ilham Aliyev and Serzh Sarkisyan, since
    the Armenian president was sworn into office, is due to take place
    at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum on June 6-8.

    "We believe that this meeting will give the two countries' presidents
    a chance to acknowledge the continuation of the talks and give the
    foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan the instructions to go
    on with the negotiations to resolve the Nagorny Karabakh conflict,"
    Edward Nalbandian told journalists.

    The conflict between the two former Soviet republics over Nagorny
    Karabakh, a region in Azerbaijan with a largely Armenian population,
    first erupted in 1988 when it announced its independence from
    Azerbaijan to join Armenia.

    The foreign minister added that the proposals presented by Madrid,
    the co-chair of the Minsk OSCE group, in December last year are
    "serious and provide an opportunity to get closer to the settlement
    of the Karabakh dispute."

    "...We are ready to continue talks on this basis," Nalbandian said.

    The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Minsk
    Group was created in 1992 to encourage a peaceful resolution to the
    conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia over Nagorno-Karabakh. The
    group is co-chaired by U.S., Russian and French representatives.

    Over 30,000 people were killed on both sides between 1988 and 1994,
    and over 100 died following a 1994 ceasefire. Nagorny Karabakh remains
    in Armenian hands, but tensions between Azerbaijan and Armenia have
    persisted.

    From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
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