Azerbaijan, Armenia To Have ‘Make-or-break’ Peace Talks

TurkishPress.com
Saturday, September 11, 2004

AFP: 9/11/2004

BARDA, Azerbaijan, Sept 11 (AFP) – Talks next week between the
leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan could make or break the fragile
peace process between the warring neighbours, Azeri President Ilham
Aliyev said Saturday.

Aliyev is due to meet face-to-face with his Armenian counterpart
Robert Kocharian on the sidelines of a summit of former Soviet
republics which begins on September 15 in Kazakhstan`s capital, Astana.

The Azeri president said the meeting could be a watershed after a
decade of unsuccessful negotiations which followed a war between
Azerbaijan and Armenia in the early 1990s over the enclave of
Nagorno-Karabakh.

“A lot depends on the meeting in Astana,” Aliyev said on a visit to
Barda, in north-western Azerbaijan.

“It could bring clarity to the question of where we are, whether we
are getting closer to an agreement or whether we are going in the
opposite direction.”

“Now there is a chance to determine the road map for achieving an
agreement. This is the main thing: real, fundamental negotiations
will start only after that.”

Aliyev added: “First of all we must agree on the principles. If we
achieve that, afterwards the detailed negotiations can get underway.”

Azerbaijan and Armenia fought a five-year war over
Nagorno-Karabakh. Some 35,000 people were killed and about one million
civilians were displaced by the fighting.

The conflict ended with Armenian forces in control of Nagorno-Karabakh,
which is internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan`s territory.

Though a fragile ceasefire is in force, the two sides are still
officially in a state of war. Azerbaijan has threatened to renew
hostilities unless peace talks produce results soon.