Armenia Hopes Azerbaijan Meeting Will Bring Breakthrough

ARMENIA HOPES AZERBAIJAN MEETING WILL BRING BREAKTHROUGH

RIA Novosti
June 4 2008
Russia

YEREVAN, June 4 (RIA Novosti) – Armenia’s foreign minister expressed
hope Wednesday that a meeting between the presidents of Armenia and
Azerbaijan in St. Petersburg would bring a breakthrough in the Nagorny
Karabakh peace process.

The first meeting between Ilham Aliyev and Serzh Sarkisyan, since
the Armenian president was sworn into office, is due to take place
at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum on June 6-8.

"We believe that this meeting will give the two countries’ presidents
a chance to acknowledge the continuation of the talks and give the
foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan the instructions to go
on with the negotiations to resolve the Nagorny Karabakh conflict,"
Edward Nalbandian told journalists.

The conflict between the two former Soviet republics over Nagorny
Karabakh, a region in Azerbaijan with a largely Armenian population,
first erupted in 1988 when it announced its independence from
Azerbaijan to join Armenia.

The foreign minister added that the proposals presented by Madrid,
the co-chair of the Minsk OSCE group, in December last year are
"serious and provide an opportunity to get closer to the settlement
of the Karabakh dispute."

"…We are ready to continue talks on this basis," Nalbandian said.

The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Minsk
Group was created in 1992 to encourage a peaceful resolution to the
conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia over Nagorno-Karabakh. The
group is co-chaired by U.S., Russian and French representatives.

Over 30,000 people were killed on both sides between 1988 and 1994,
and over 100 died following a 1994 ceasefire. Nagorny Karabakh remains
in Armenian hands, but tensions between Azerbaijan and Armenia have
persisted.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress