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Peninsula On-line, Qatar
Aug 10 2014
Putin begins effort to defuse tension between Armenia and Azerbaijan
August 10, 2014 - 12:00:00 am
MOSCOW: Russian President Vladimir Putin began talks yesterday with
the leaders of arch-foes Armenia and Azerbaijan after recent clashes
that have left 22 soldiers dead and fuelled fears that one of the
bloodiest post-Soviet wars is restarting.
Putin held separate talks at his residence in Russia's southern Black
Sea resort town of Sochi with Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev and
Serzh Sarkisian of Armenia. A trilateral meeting was due to be held
today.
"We will no doubt talk about the most painful and chronic problem of
resolving the Karabakh," Putin was quoted as saying by Interfax news
agency at the start of his meeting with Aliyev.
Nagorny Karabakh, a region mostly inhabited by ethnic Armenians, broke
away from Azerbaijan with the help of Armenia in a war that claimed
some 30,000 lives between 1991 and 1994.
The conflict has been festering ever since, with international
mediators unable to find a political solution and both countries
remaining on a war footing.
The brittle status quo along the so-called line of contact between the
two sides has been shattered in recent weeks. At least 22 soldiers
have been killed in the fiercest clashes since a ceasefire was agreed
in 1994.
Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov said both the Armenian and Azerbaijani
leaders "expressed concern about a rise in tension connected with the
incidents of recent days that have claimed lives..."
The tensions between energy-rich Azerbaijan and Moscow-allied Armenia
have escalated as ex-Soviet republics are uneasily watching the
Kremlin's historic confrontation with the West over Ukraine, where
government forces are battling Russian-backed separatists.
Each side has blamed the other for the latest surge in violence and
there has been plenty of sabre-rattling.
Sarkisian told Putin at the start of his meeting with the Russian
leader that he would inform him "about the situation in our region and
the reasons for the deliberate escalation of the situation by
Azerbaijan" on their joint border.
Aliyev was more diplomatic, saying that the conflict "has dragged on
for too long and most be resolved."
But earlier in the week Aliyev vowed he would boost the strength of
Azerbaijan's army.
http://thepeninsulaqatar.com/news/international/295007/putin-begins-effort-to-defuse-tension-between-armenia-and-azerbaijan
From: Baghdasarian
Aug 10 2014
Putin begins effort to defuse tension between Armenia and Azerbaijan
August 10, 2014 - 12:00:00 am
MOSCOW: Russian President Vladimir Putin began talks yesterday with
the leaders of arch-foes Armenia and Azerbaijan after recent clashes
that have left 22 soldiers dead and fuelled fears that one of the
bloodiest post-Soviet wars is restarting.
Putin held separate talks at his residence in Russia's southern Black
Sea resort town of Sochi with Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev and
Serzh Sarkisian of Armenia. A trilateral meeting was due to be held
today.
"We will no doubt talk about the most painful and chronic problem of
resolving the Karabakh," Putin was quoted as saying by Interfax news
agency at the start of his meeting with Aliyev.
Nagorny Karabakh, a region mostly inhabited by ethnic Armenians, broke
away from Azerbaijan with the help of Armenia in a war that claimed
some 30,000 lives between 1991 and 1994.
The conflict has been festering ever since, with international
mediators unable to find a political solution and both countries
remaining on a war footing.
The brittle status quo along the so-called line of contact between the
two sides has been shattered in recent weeks. At least 22 soldiers
have been killed in the fiercest clashes since a ceasefire was agreed
in 1994.
Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov said both the Armenian and Azerbaijani
leaders "expressed concern about a rise in tension connected with the
incidents of recent days that have claimed lives..."
The tensions between energy-rich Azerbaijan and Moscow-allied Armenia
have escalated as ex-Soviet republics are uneasily watching the
Kremlin's historic confrontation with the West over Ukraine, where
government forces are battling Russian-backed separatists.
Each side has blamed the other for the latest surge in violence and
there has been plenty of sabre-rattling.
Sarkisian told Putin at the start of his meeting with the Russian
leader that he would inform him "about the situation in our region and
the reasons for the deliberate escalation of the situation by
Azerbaijan" on their joint border.
Aliyev was more diplomatic, saying that the conflict "has dragged on
for too long and most be resolved."
But earlier in the week Aliyev vowed he would boost the strength of
Azerbaijan's army.
http://thepeninsulaqatar.com/news/international/295007/putin-begins-effort-to-defuse-tension-between-armenia-and-azerbaijan
From: Baghdasarian