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FRANCE HOSTS NEGOTIATIONS OVER DISPUTED KARABAKH REGION
Agence France Presse
October 27, 2014 Monday 1:28 PM GMT
PARIS, Oct 27 2014
French President Francois Hollande held talks with leaders from
Armenia and Azerbaijan Monday as Europe makes a fresh push to end
the festering conflict over the disputed region of Nagorny Karabakh.
The summit in Paris follows a visit by German Foreign Minister
Frank-Walter Steinmeier to both countries last week after a sharp
escalation in violence over the region in recent months as war rages
in Ukraine.
Armenian separatists backed by Yerevan seized the mountainous region,
which is mainly inhabited by ethnic Armenians, from Azerbaijan in a
war in the 1990s that left some 30,000 people dead.
Despite years of negotiations since a 1994 ceasefire, the two
sides have not yet signed a final peace deal on Karabakh, still
internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan.
Hollande held a first meeting with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev
and then with Armenia's Serzh Sarkisian, ahead of three-way talks
planned for 1600 GMT followed by dinner.
Oil-rich Baku, whose military spending exceeds Armenia's entire state
budget, has threatened to take back the region by force if negotiations
do not yield results.
Armenia -- heavily armed by Russia -- says it could crush any
offensive.
Although few expect a breakthrough in Paris after more than two decades
of bloodshed, a French diplomatic source said it is "important to
bring the two presidents together, to call on them to work together,
to get back to the table to reduce tensions".
Last August saw a dramatic surge in violence across the countries'
border and along the Karabakh frontline as more than 20 troops died
in the deadliest clashes since the ceasefire.
Tensions between Azerbaijan and Moscow-allied Armenia have escalated
as Russia confronts the West over Ukraine, where government forces
are battling pro-Russian separatists.
bur-mbx/ric/txw
Agence France Presse
October 27, 2014 Monday 1:28 PM GMT
PARIS, Oct 27 2014
French President Francois Hollande held talks with leaders from
Armenia and Azerbaijan Monday as Europe makes a fresh push to end
the festering conflict over the disputed region of Nagorny Karabakh.
The summit in Paris follows a visit by German Foreign Minister
Frank-Walter Steinmeier to both countries last week after a sharp
escalation in violence over the region in recent months as war rages
in Ukraine.
Armenian separatists backed by Yerevan seized the mountainous region,
which is mainly inhabited by ethnic Armenians, from Azerbaijan in a
war in the 1990s that left some 30,000 people dead.
Despite years of negotiations since a 1994 ceasefire, the two
sides have not yet signed a final peace deal on Karabakh, still
internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan.
Hollande held a first meeting with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev
and then with Armenia's Serzh Sarkisian, ahead of three-way talks
planned for 1600 GMT followed by dinner.
Oil-rich Baku, whose military spending exceeds Armenia's entire state
budget, has threatened to take back the region by force if negotiations
do not yield results.
Armenia -- heavily armed by Russia -- says it could crush any
offensive.
Although few expect a breakthrough in Paris after more than two decades
of bloodshed, a French diplomatic source said it is "important to
bring the two presidents together, to call on them to work together,
to get back to the table to reduce tensions".
Last August saw a dramatic surge in violence across the countries'
border and along the Karabakh frontline as more than 20 troops died
in the deadliest clashes since the ceasefire.
Tensions between Azerbaijan and Moscow-allied Armenia have escalated
as Russia confronts the West over Ukraine, where government forces
are battling pro-Russian separatists.
bur-mbx/ric/txw