MEDVEDEV TO MEDIATE ALIYEV-SARKISIAN TALKS: REPORT
AzerNews Weekly
Sept 10 2008
Azerbaijan
The next meeting to bring together Azerbaijani and Armenian presidents
to discuss the Upper (Nagorno) Garabagh conflict will be hosted by
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, according to Kremlin sources as
reported in Russia`s Kommersant newspaper.
Reports say Medvedev is expected to first meet with Azerbaijani
President Ilham Aliyev. One of the key issues on the agenda is Aliyev`s
possible meeting with Armenian leader Serzh Sarkisian. The two will
also discuss Turkey`s recent proposal to set up a five-nation union,
called the Caucasus Peace and Cooperation Platform, the report said.
If the presidential meeting takes place, it will be held without
the participation of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairmen who have been
brokering the peace process, Kommersant said.
Azerbaijani and Russian Foreign Ministers, Elmar Mammadyarov and Sergei
Lavrov, discussed the Garabagh conflict during a meeting in Moscow
on Sunday. Lavrov said his country backs Azerbaijan`s territorial
integrity, in accord with previous agreements, including a document
signed between the two presidents in early July.