Armenian authorities say Azerbaijani spy arrested

The Associated Press
02/09/05 10:49 EST

YEREVAN, Armenia (AP) – Security authorities said Wednesday they
had arrested an Armenian man who was allegedly working as a spy for
neighboring Azerbaijan – Armenia’s longtime enemy.

The press service for the National Security Service did not identify
the man, say when he was arrested or explain the circumstances under
which he was arrested.

Last fall, a Yerevan court sentenced four Armenians to prison sentences
ranging from six to 14 years after convicting them of espionage.

Relations between the two former Soviet republics are extremely tense,
due to their long-running conflict over disputed Nagorno-Karabakh
enclave, a region located within Azerbaijan’s borders that saw
a six-year war in which ethnic Armenian troops drove Azerbaijan
forces out.

Despite a 1994 cease-fire, a political solution remains elusive,
and fighting breaks out sporadically in the no man’s land around the
enclave. More than 1 million people were left homeless and 30,000
killed as a result of the war.