Tweet
US CALLS 'DISAPPOINTING' FAILURE OF KARABAKH TALKS
Agence France Presse
June 28, 2011 Tuesday 1:08 AM GMT
The United States on Monday called "disappointing" the failure of
a peace summit aimed at reducing tensions around the separatist
territory of Nagorny Karabakh.
"I would says it's disappointing," said US State Department spokeswoman
Victoria Nuland, when asked about the summit organized last week
in Russia.
The failure of Armenian President Serzh Sarkisian and Azerbaijani
President Ilham Aliyev to reach an agreement on "basic principles"
last Friday was a major disappointment after hopes had been raised
in the talks, which were presided over by President Dmitry Medvedev
in the Russian city of Kazan.
President Barack Obama had called the two leaders and asked them to
sign the basic principles agreement.
Nagorny Karabakh, whose population is mostly Armenian but which was
part of Azerbaijan during the Soviet era, proclaimed its independence
after a war which resulted in the deaths of some 30,000 people and
created hundreds of thousands of refugees between 1988 and 1994. But
it is not recognized by the international community.
The interim basic principles agreement would see an Armenian
withdrawal from areas around Karabakh that were also seized during
the post-Soviet war.
It also envisages international security guarantees and a vote on
the final status of the territory at some point in the future.
Even if the basic principles are finally agreed, huge obstacles remain
to a final peace deal.
While Armenia insists that Karabakh will never return to Baku's
control, Azerbaijan insists that the region must remain part of its
sovereign territory.
Agence France Presse
June 28, 2011 Tuesday 1:08 AM GMT
The United States on Monday called "disappointing" the failure of
a peace summit aimed at reducing tensions around the separatist
territory of Nagorny Karabakh.
"I would says it's disappointing," said US State Department spokeswoman
Victoria Nuland, when asked about the summit organized last week
in Russia.
The failure of Armenian President Serzh Sarkisian and Azerbaijani
President Ilham Aliyev to reach an agreement on "basic principles"
last Friday was a major disappointment after hopes had been raised
in the talks, which were presided over by President Dmitry Medvedev
in the Russian city of Kazan.
President Barack Obama had called the two leaders and asked them to
sign the basic principles agreement.
Nagorny Karabakh, whose population is mostly Armenian but which was
part of Azerbaijan during the Soviet era, proclaimed its independence
after a war which resulted in the deaths of some 30,000 people and
created hundreds of thousands of refugees between 1988 and 1994. But
it is not recognized by the international community.
The interim basic principles agreement would see an Armenian
withdrawal from areas around Karabakh that were also seized during
the post-Soviet war.
It also envisages international security guarantees and a vote on
the final status of the territory at some point in the future.
Even if the basic principles are finally agreed, huge obstacles remain
to a final peace deal.
While Armenia insists that Karabakh will never return to Baku's
control, Azerbaijan insists that the region must remain part of its
sovereign territory.