No breakthrough in Azerbaijan, Armenia talks on Nagorno-Karabakh dispute

Agence France Presse — English
September 15, 2004 Wednesday 5:26 PM GMT

ASTANA Sept 15 — The leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan on Wednesday
held talks in presence of Russian President Vladimir Putin in a bid
to resolve their dispute over the enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh, but
failed to report any breakthrough.

“We cannot boast any particular success. We must continue to quietly
and patiently discuss this problem which we have inherited,” Armenian
President Robert Kocharian told reporters after the talks.

His Azeri counterpart Ilham Aliyev was equally cautious. “We must as
usual content ourselves with making fairly vague declarations. Today
is no exception,” he said.

“We hope to progress towards a settlement” of the issue surrounding
the enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh, over which Armenia and Azerbaikan
fought a five-year war in the early 1990s, Aliyev added.

Kocharian and Aliyev held two-way talks before joining Putin for
more discussions.

“I am happy to see that you have not lost your optimism… and are
continuing the dialogue at the highest level,” Putin said as the talks
began, on the sidelines of a summit of former Soviet republics here.

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

“Hopes are very high, despite the complexity of the problem,” Putin
said, adding that “whatever the result, a meeting of three leaders
is always a step forwards.”

Aliyev thanked Russia for taking part in the summit talks.

“Our neighbour Russia, co-president of the Minsk Group, plays a key
part in the settlement,” he said. The Minsk Group, comprising France,
Russia and the United States, has been mediating between the two
states for the past decade.

Some 35,000 people were killed and about one million displaced by
the conflict, which erupted during the break up of the Soviet Union.

The war ended with Armenian forces in control of Nagorno-Karabakh,
but the enclave is internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan’s
territory.