Reuters, UK
May 30 2008
Azeri, Armenian leaders to meet on disputed area-Ifx
Fri May 30, 2008 2:16pm EDT
MOSCOW, May 30 (Reuters) – The Armenian and Azeri leaders will meet
next month to discuss the disputed area of Nagorno-Karabakh for the
first time since Armenia’s change of president, Interfax news agency
reported on Friday.
Armenian-backed separatists control the mountainous area but shootouts
break out between Azeri and Armenian forces along the border.
The two former Soviet states fought a war in the early 1990s which
killed thousands and forced thousands more to flee.
Armenia’s foreign minister, Edward Nalbandyan, announced there would
be talks after meeting Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in
Moscow.
"This meeting will be on June 6 in St Petersburg. We hope it will be
positive," he said.
An informal meeting of leaders from former Soviet states is scheduled
for St Petersburg around the time of the International Economic Forum
between June 6 and 8.
Armenia’s new president, Serzh Sarksyan, won an election in
February. He had previously been prime minister.
The two countries’ presidents do meet to discuss the area but this
will be the first time Sarksyan has met Azerbaijan’s President Ilham
Aliyev. (Writing by James Kilner)
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
