Azerbaijani President: Nagorno-Karabakh Talks Should Continue VOA News

Voice of America, DC
Sept 2 2004

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev says he believes negotiations on
settling the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict should continue. He told
reporters Thursday if he ever determines that negotiations on the
conflict are ineffective, Azerbaijan will withdraw.

Nagorno-Karabakh is an ethnic Armenian enclave in Azerbaijan that
declared independence in 1988. A six-year conflict over the area
claimed some 35,000 lives.

On another issue, Mr. Aliyev says Azerbaijan will not join a call by
Russia and eight other former Soviet republics for reform of Europe’s
largest security organization.

In July, the nine countries agreed to seek changes in the Organization
for Security and Cooperation in Europe. They accused the organization
of using a double standard in criticizing the human rights situation
in some countries, while ignoring rights in others.