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FRANCE'S HOLLANDE TO HOST TALKS ON NAGORNY KARABAKH CRISIS
Agence France Presse
October 22, 2014 Wednesday 5:22 PM GMT
PARIS, Oct 22 2014
French President Francois Hollande will on Monday mediate talks
between the leaders of arch-foes Armenia and Azerbaijan in a bid to
revive talks on a separatist conflict that has dragged on for over
two decades.
At the heart of the dispute is the fate of Nagorny Karabakh, a region
mostly inhabited by ethnic Armenians that 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 festered ever since, with occasional skirmishes on
the front, and international mediators have been unable to find a
political solution.
In August, more than 20 troops died on the two sides in the deadliest
clashes since the 1994 ceasefire.
The Paris meeting, confirmed by Hollande's entourage, will include
representatives of the Minsk group of mediators appointed by the OSCE
in 1992, which France co-chairs with Russia and the United States.
Hollande will hold separate meetings with Azerbaijan President Ilham
Aliyev and Armenia's Serzh Sargsyan, who could then meet face-to-face
if they wish.
The tensions between energy-rich Azerbaijan and Moscow-allied Armenia
have escalated as ex-Soviet republics uneasily watch the Kremlin's
confrontation with the West over Ukraine, where government forces
are battling Russian-backed separatists.
Azerbaijan has threatened to take back the disputed region by force
if negotiations do not yield results, although Armenia, which is
heavily armed, says it could crush any offensive.
Agence France Presse
October 22, 2014 Wednesday 5:22 PM GMT
PARIS, Oct 22 2014
French President Francois Hollande will on Monday mediate talks
between the leaders of arch-foes Armenia and Azerbaijan in a bid to
revive talks on a separatist conflict that has dragged on for over
two decades.
At the heart of the dispute is the fate of Nagorny Karabakh, a region
mostly inhabited by ethnic Armenians that 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 festered ever since, with occasional skirmishes on
the front, and international mediators have been unable to find a
political solution.
In August, more than 20 troops died on the two sides in the deadliest
clashes since the 1994 ceasefire.
The Paris meeting, confirmed by Hollande's entourage, will include
representatives of the Minsk group of mediators appointed by the OSCE
in 1992, which France co-chairs with Russia and the United States.
Hollande will hold separate meetings with Azerbaijan President Ilham
Aliyev and Armenia's Serzh Sargsyan, who could then meet face-to-face
if they wish.
The tensions between energy-rich Azerbaijan and Moscow-allied Armenia
have escalated as ex-Soviet republics uneasily watch the Kremlin's
confrontation with the West over Ukraine, where government forces
are battling Russian-backed separatists.
Azerbaijan has threatened to take back the disputed region by force
if negotiations do not yield results, although Armenia, which is
heavily armed, says it could crush any offensive.