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Armenia, Azerbaijan to intensify talks
06/11/2008 | Moscow News ?-44 2008
The leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan agreed Sunday to intensify talks
to end a 20-year conflict over the disputed territory of
Nagorno-Karabakh.
The pledge was made during discussions outside Moscow hosted by
Russia's president that lasted less than three hours, according to a
joint statement.
Nagorny Karabakh, a region in Azerbaijan with a largely Armenian
population, declared its inde - pendence from Azerbaijan to join Ar - menia
in 1988 and has been a source of conflict ever since. The two countries
fought a six-year war that killed about 30,000 and displaced 1 million
people before a truce was reached in 1994.
The presidents of Azerbaijan and Armenia met one-on-one before they
were joined by Medvedev for the talks, which took place at Medvedev's
residence, Meiendorf Castle.
Medvedev launched the latest push to end the conflict during a visit to
Armenia in October, just two months after sending tanks into nearby
Georgia after Tbilisi moved to retake the breakaway republic of South
Ossetia.
Presidents Serge Sarkisian of Armenia and Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan
agreed to instruct their foreign ministers "to speed up further moves
in the negotiating process," the declaration said.
The foreign ministers will work with Russia, the U.S. and France,
co-chairmen of the so-called Minsk Group of the Organization for
Security and Cooperation in Euro - pe, which has tried unsuccessfully to
negotiate a diplomatic solution to the conflict.
In October, Sarkisian said he was ready for talks on the basis of
principles worked out at negotiations in Madrid last year that would
give Nagorny Karabakh the right to self-determination.
The Kremlin would act as guarantor of a new accord, an administration
official was quoted as saying ahead of Sunday's talks.
The U.S. also has promised re - cently to intensify its efforts to help
solve the conflict. Washington and Moscow have both pointed to
Geor - gia's war with Russia in August, saying it has underlined the need
to settle other regional conflicts through talks. Russia and U.S. are
struggling over influence in Azerbaijan, a key energy exporter that
ships oil and gas through Western-backed pipelines through Georgia and
Turkey, bypassing Russia.
On Tuesday, the chairman of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council
of Europe (PACE) called upon the two nations to continue discussions on
resolving the dispute over Nagorny Karabakh.
Lluis Maria de Puig urged the presidents to keeping talking and working
toward a settlement, and said PACE would do whatever it could to move
the process forward.
"I wish to congratulate Presidents Aliyev and Sarksyan, and President
Medvedev, who facilitated the meeting, on their commitment to finding a
peaceful solution to the Nagorny Karabakh conflict," he said in a
statement released by PACE.
"The start of this dialogue, which will be followed by intensified
diplomatic efforts and the promotion of a series of confidence-building
measures, is a window of hope for the entire region," the chairman
said.
"The Parliamentary Assembly stands ready to help the parliaments of
Armenia and Azerbaijan in all their efforts, so that the process just
started proves successful," he added.
Combined reports AP, AFP, RIA Novosti
06/11/2008 | Moscow News ?-44 2008
The leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan agreed Sunday to intensify talks
to end a 20-year conflict over the disputed territory of
Nagorno-Karabakh.
The pledge was made during discussions outside Moscow hosted by
Russia's president that lasted less than three hours, according to a
joint statement.
Nagorny Karabakh, a region in Azerbaijan with a largely Armenian
population, declared its inde - pendence from Azerbaijan to join Ar - menia
in 1988 and has been a source of conflict ever since. The two countries
fought a six-year war that killed about 30,000 and displaced 1 million
people before a truce was reached in 1994.
The presidents of Azerbaijan and Armenia met one-on-one before they
were joined by Medvedev for the talks, which took place at Medvedev's
residence, Meiendorf Castle.
Medvedev launched the latest push to end the conflict during a visit to
Armenia in October, just two months after sending tanks into nearby
Georgia after Tbilisi moved to retake the breakaway republic of South
Ossetia.
Presidents Serge Sarkisian of Armenia and Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan
agreed to instruct their foreign ministers "to speed up further moves
in the negotiating process," the declaration said.
The foreign ministers will work with Russia, the U.S. and France,
co-chairmen of the so-called Minsk Group of the Organization for
Security and Cooperation in Euro - pe, which has tried unsuccessfully to
negotiate a diplomatic solution to the conflict.
In October, Sarkisian said he was ready for talks on the basis of
principles worked out at negotiations in Madrid last year that would
give Nagorny Karabakh the right to self-determination.
The Kremlin would act as guarantor of a new accord, an administration
official was quoted as saying ahead of Sunday's talks.
The U.S. also has promised re - cently to intensify its efforts to help
solve the conflict. Washington and Moscow have both pointed to
Geor - gia's war with Russia in August, saying it has underlined the need
to settle other regional conflicts through talks. Russia and U.S. are
struggling over influence in Azerbaijan, a key energy exporter that
ships oil and gas through Western-backed pipelines through Georgia and
Turkey, bypassing Russia.
On Tuesday, the chairman of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council
of Europe (PACE) called upon the two nations to continue discussions on
resolving the dispute over Nagorny Karabakh.
Lluis Maria de Puig urged the presidents to keeping talking and working
toward a settlement, and said PACE would do whatever it could to move
the process forward.
"I wish to congratulate Presidents Aliyev and Sarksyan, and President
Medvedev, who facilitated the meeting, on their commitment to finding a
peaceful solution to the Nagorny Karabakh conflict," he said in a
statement released by PACE.
"The start of this dialogue, which will be followed by intensified
diplomatic efforts and the promotion of a series of confidence-building
measures, is a window of hope for the entire region," the chairman
said.
"The Parliamentary Assembly stands ready to help the parliaments of
Armenia and Azerbaijan in all their efforts, so that the process just
started proves successful," he added.
Combined reports AP, AFP, RIA Novosti