NAGORNO-KARABAKH HAS FUNCTIONING GOVERNMENT AND ADVANCING ECONOMY: ICG

/ARKA/
January 16, 2012
YEREVAN

YEREVAN, January 16. /ARKA/. Nagorno-Karabakh has a functioning
government and advancing economy, said Sabina Fraser, Director of
European Programs from the International Crisis Group (ICG), in an
interview with when asked about the prospects
for the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh problem.

According to her, the best option to resolve the conflict is the one
proposed by the OSCE Minsk Group that calls for giving Nagorno-Karabakh
an interim status and security guarantees.

“For many years Nagorno-Karabakh has lived in isolation from the
outside world, the only link is with Armenia. Nagorno-Karabakh has a
functioning government and a growing economy, so the interim status
will enable it to communicate with the outside world and attract
investment,” she said .

She said she fully trusts the Madrid principles, which “indicate the
best way to progress.”

“I really want to believe in what they the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs
say. The parties are close to an agreement that serves as an incentive
for all those involved in the Karabakh conflict – in the first place
for the Armenians and Azerbaijanis. Using these principles is the
best way to get Nagorno-Karabakh out of this situation,” she said.

Nagorno-Karabakh, populated overwhelmingly by ethnic Armenians,
broke away from Azerbaijan following a three-year war that left some
30,000 dead.

A Russia-brokered ceasefire ended the hostilities in 1994, but peace
has remained fragile since then. The current Minsk Group-mediated
negotiations between Armenia and Azerbaijan have not brought a peace
agreement yet.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress