Associated Press Worldstream
December 27, 2004 Monday

Disputed Nagorno-Karabakh enclave says international recognition
primary goal

YEREVAN, Armenia

The new foreign minister of the Nagorno-Karabakh enclave, whose
status remains unresolved more than a decade after the end of a
separatist war, said the region’s top goal was to achieve
international recognition.

“This will be the cornerstone of our work, and for all our contacts,
both bilateral and in the framework of international organizations,”
said Arman Melikian, who two days earlier was appointed foreign
minister of the enclave’s government, which is not recognized
internationally.

Ethnic Armenian forces backed by Armenia drove Azerbaijani troops out
of Nagorno-Karabakh in a six-year war that killed some 30,000 people
and drove a million from their homes.

A cease-fire was reached in 1994, but the enclave’s final status has
not been determined. The unresolved dispute damages both nations’
economies and the threat of renewed war continues to hang over the
region.

The two countries have been involved in an international effort to
reach a settlement, sponsored by the Organization for Security and
Cooperation in Europe and led by Russia, France and the United
States. Azerbaijan refuses to negotiate with Nagorno-Karabakh
officials.