Associated Press Worldstream
April 22, 2004 Thursday 1:55 PM Eastern Time

German foreign minister talks with Armenian president

YEREVAN, Armenia

German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer on Thursday met with
President Robert Kocharian and urged Armenia and Azerbaijan to seek a
resolution of their long-standing dispute over Nagorno-Karabakh.

The enclave in Azerbaijan has been separated from the country since
the mid-1990s, under the control of ethnic Armenians after a
separatist war.

A cease-fire in the conflict was signed in 1994, but the final status
of Nagorno-Karabakh has not been resolved.

“For us, it is important that there be a peaceful solution to the
conflict,” Fischer said after meeting Kocharian. Germany and the
European Union could “contribute to creating a climate of trust,” he
said, but the process must be led by the two countries involved.

Later Thursday, Fischer went to the Georgian capital Tbilisi, where
he is to take part in a seminar of Germany’s ambassadors to the
countries of Central Asia and the South Caucasus.