Agence France Presse
July 8, 2011 Friday 9:30 AM GMT

Russia, US seek to revive Karabakh peace process

YEREVAN, July 8 2011

Russia’s foreign minister shuttled between Armenia and Azerbaijan on
Friday in a bid to revive the ailing peace process over the disputed
Nagorny Karabakh region after key talks last month failed.

Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov brought what he said were new proposals
after the summit in Russia ended without agreeing on a road-map
document setting out “basic principles” for future talks on the
Karabakh conflict, amid fears of renewed war.

In Yerevan, Lavrov said he handed a “personal letter” to Armenian
leader Serzh Sarkisian from Russian President Dmitry Medvedev
outlining the proposals, but gave no details about its content.

“Directly after this meeting I will fly to Baku, where I will give the
leadership of Azerbaijan a similar message on behalf of Medvedev,”
Lavrov said.

“We want the issue resolved, and resolved in such a way that lasting
peace and stability will actually be established in our region,”
Sarkisian told Lavrov.

However Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian again blamed
Azerbaijan for undermining the process by demanding changes to the
road-map document.

In another sign of international concern over the issue, US Secretary
of State Hillary Clinton telephoned the Armenian president on Thursday
to discuss “issues related to the current stage of the NK peace
process”, according to a statement on Sarkisian’s website.

Peace mediators from the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in
Europe are also due to visit the region next week, US ambassador to
Baku Matthew Bryza told local media.

Armenia and Azerbaijan traded bitter accusations after the summit in
Russia, which was touted by diplomats as a potential breakthrough but
only produced a vague joint statement that noted “the reaching of
mutual understanding on a number of questions”.

Nagorny Karabakh, whose population is mostly Armenian but which was
part of Azerbaijan during the Soviet era, proclaimed its independence
after a war which resulted in the deaths of some 30,000 people and
created hundreds of thousands of refugees between 1988 and 1994. But
it is not recognized by the international community.

There are fears that a new flare-up in the Karabakh conflict could be
even bloodier than in the 1990s and potentially threaten pipelines
taking Caspian Sea oil and gas from Azerbaijan to Europe.

The two enemies still exchange deadly fire across the ceasefire line,
with Armenia insisting that Karabakh will never return to Baku’s
control and Azerbaijan saying that the region must remain part of its
sovereign territory.

mkh-emc/ma/boc

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress