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Reuters, UK
Aug 10 2014
Russia presses Armenian, Azeri leaders for talks on Nagorno-Karabakh
By Alexei and Anishchuk
(Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin urged the leaders of
Azerbaijan and Armenia on Sunday to talk instead of fight, after more
than a dozen people were killed in clashes over the disputed
Nagorno-Karabakh region.
The Kremlin chief hosted a meeting between the heads of the two
ex-Soviet states this weekend, giving him a chance to play a
peacekeeping role in the former Soviet Union at a time when the West
is accusing Moscow of backing pro-Russian separatists in Ukraine.
"The key thing is: There's no bigger tragedy than the loss of human
lives," Putin told Azerbaijan's Ilham Aliyev and Armenia's Serzh
Sagrsyan in the second day of talks in his Black Sea residence in
Sochi. "We need to act wisely and patiently and pay respect to one
another to find the solution."
Sargsyan and Aliyev agreed on the need for a political solution to the
23-year-old conflict.
"Back then (in the 1990s) we came to a conclusion that this conflict
has no military solution," Sargsyan said. "If we keep on blaming each
other, I don't think it will be resolved for a long time."
The good-faith comments were echoed by Aliyev, who said: "I hope that
we will find a solution in line with... the principles of
international law in the nearest future."
At least 16 combatants were killed and several wounded in last week's
clashes around the region, which lies within Azerbaijan but is
populated mostly by ethnic Armenians. The clashes highlighted the risk
of broader conflict in the South Caucasus area, where oil and natural
gas flow from the Caspian region to Europe.
Fighting in Nagorno-Karabakh first erupted in 1991, when the Soviet
Union broke up. A ceasefire was called in 1994 after more than 30,000
people were killed in the fighting. The two sides have regularly
traded accusations of further violence around the region and along the
Azeri-Armenian border.
Energy-producing Azerbaijan, host to oil majors including BP, Chevron
and ExxonMobil, frequently threatens to take Nagorno-Karabakh back by
force and is spending heavily on its armed forces.
Meanwhile, Russia is at odds with the West over Ukraine. The United
States and the European Union have imposed sanctions on Russia,
including visa bans, asset freezes and limiting access to capital for
Russian state banks, over its role in the fighting and Moscow's
annexation of the Crimean peninsula in March.
Moscow has retaliated with counter sanctions, imposing sweeping trade
restrictions of Western food imports.
(Reporting By Alexei Anishchuk; Editing by Alissa de Carbonnel, Larry King)
http://uk.reuters.com/article/2014/08/10/uk-russia-talks-armenia-azerbaijan-idUKKBN0GA0HG20140810
From: A. Papazian
Aug 10 2014
Russia presses Armenian, Azeri leaders for talks on Nagorno-Karabakh
By Alexei and Anishchuk
(Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin urged the leaders of
Azerbaijan and Armenia on Sunday to talk instead of fight, after more
than a dozen people were killed in clashes over the disputed
Nagorno-Karabakh region.
The Kremlin chief hosted a meeting between the heads of the two
ex-Soviet states this weekend, giving him a chance to play a
peacekeeping role in the former Soviet Union at a time when the West
is accusing Moscow of backing pro-Russian separatists in Ukraine.
"The key thing is: There's no bigger tragedy than the loss of human
lives," Putin told Azerbaijan's Ilham Aliyev and Armenia's Serzh
Sagrsyan in the second day of talks in his Black Sea residence in
Sochi. "We need to act wisely and patiently and pay respect to one
another to find the solution."
Sargsyan and Aliyev agreed on the need for a political solution to the
23-year-old conflict.
"Back then (in the 1990s) we came to a conclusion that this conflict
has no military solution," Sargsyan said. "If we keep on blaming each
other, I don't think it will be resolved for a long time."
The good-faith comments were echoed by Aliyev, who said: "I hope that
we will find a solution in line with... the principles of
international law in the nearest future."
At least 16 combatants were killed and several wounded in last week's
clashes around the region, which lies within Azerbaijan but is
populated mostly by ethnic Armenians. The clashes highlighted the risk
of broader conflict in the South Caucasus area, where oil and natural
gas flow from the Caspian region to Europe.
Fighting in Nagorno-Karabakh first erupted in 1991, when the Soviet
Union broke up. A ceasefire was called in 1994 after more than 30,000
people were killed in the fighting. The two sides have regularly
traded accusations of further violence around the region and along the
Azeri-Armenian border.
Energy-producing Azerbaijan, host to oil majors including BP, Chevron
and ExxonMobil, frequently threatens to take Nagorno-Karabakh back by
force and is spending heavily on its armed forces.
Meanwhile, Russia is at odds with the West over Ukraine. The United
States and the European Union have imposed sanctions on Russia,
including visa bans, asset freezes and limiting access to capital for
Russian state banks, over its role in the fighting and Moscow's
annexation of the Crimean peninsula in March.
Moscow has retaliated with counter sanctions, imposing sweeping trade
restrictions of Western food imports.
(Reporting By Alexei Anishchuk; Editing by Alissa de Carbonnel, Larry King)
http://uk.reuters.com/article/2014/08/10/uk-russia-talks-armenia-azerbaijan-idUKKBN0GA0HG20140810
From: A. Papazian