RUSSIA SEEKS END TO TERRITORIAL ROW BETWEEN ARMENIA AND AZERBAIJAN
Monsters and Critics
http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/europe/news/article_1647424.php/Russia-seeks-end-to-territorial-row-between-Armenia-and-Azerbaijan
June 24 2011
Moscow - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev met with the leaders of
Armenia and Azerbaijan Friday in a bid to reach an agreement between
the two countries on the disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh.
Medvedev was hosting a summit with Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan
and his Azerbaijani counterpart, Ilham Aliyev, in the central Russian
city of Kazan.
Nagorno-Karabakh is an ethnic Armenian enclave in Azerbaijan that
has been controlled by Armenia since 1994, war ended between the
two countries. The dispute over the territory's status, dating from
the last years of the Soviet Union, is one of the most intractable
conflicts in the Caucasus region.
Medvedev said he wanted to bring Yerevan and Baku back to the
negotiating table to find a solution to the dispute.
Nagorno-Karabakh's territory currently is marked by a ceasefire line,
where Armenian and Azerbajini troops sometimes exchange fire.
A Kremlin statement said a top goal of the conference was obtaining
a commitment from both sides to renounce force in resolving the
Nagorno-Karabakh dispute.
Both Sargsyan and Aliyev, in pre-summit comments, said they were
'optimistic' the talks would help negotiators make progress towards
ending the current deadlock.
'We believe that there can be great autonomy (for Nagorno-Karabakh)
Aliyev said, in comments reported by the Interfax news agency. 'But
the territory is an unalterable part of Azerbaijan.'
Replacement of Azerbaijani and Armenian troops on the ceasefire line
with peacekeepers from neighbouring countries was another probable
discussion topic for the summit, Interfax reported.
Armenia has historically had a stronger army than Azerbaijan. The
military balance between the two countries has shifted in recent
years because of substantial arms purchases by oil-rich Azerbaijan.
Monsters and Critics
http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/europe/news/article_1647424.php/Russia-seeks-end-to-territorial-row-between-Armenia-and-Azerbaijan
June 24 2011
Moscow - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev met with the leaders of
Armenia and Azerbaijan Friday in a bid to reach an agreement between
the two countries on the disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh.
Medvedev was hosting a summit with Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan
and his Azerbaijani counterpart, Ilham Aliyev, in the central Russian
city of Kazan.
Nagorno-Karabakh is an ethnic Armenian enclave in Azerbaijan that
has been controlled by Armenia since 1994, war ended between the
two countries. The dispute over the territory's status, dating from
the last years of the Soviet Union, is one of the most intractable
conflicts in the Caucasus region.
Medvedev said he wanted to bring Yerevan and Baku back to the
negotiating table to find a solution to the dispute.
Nagorno-Karabakh's territory currently is marked by a ceasefire line,
where Armenian and Azerbajini troops sometimes exchange fire.
A Kremlin statement said a top goal of the conference was obtaining
a commitment from both sides to renounce force in resolving the
Nagorno-Karabakh dispute.
Both Sargsyan and Aliyev, in pre-summit comments, said they were
'optimistic' the talks would help negotiators make progress towards
ending the current deadlock.
'We believe that there can be great autonomy (for Nagorno-Karabakh)
Aliyev said, in comments reported by the Interfax news agency. 'But
the territory is an unalterable part of Azerbaijan.'
Replacement of Azerbaijani and Armenian troops on the ceasefire line
with peacekeepers from neighbouring countries was another probable
discussion topic for the summit, Interfax reported.
Armenia has historically had a stronger army than Azerbaijan. The
military balance between the two countries has shifted in recent
years because of substantial arms purchases by oil-rich Azerbaijan.