Radio Free Europe, Czech Republic
July 12 2005

Hope Seen For Nagorno-Karabakh Settlement

(RFE/RL)
12 July 2005 — International mediators involved in the territorial dispute
between Armenia and Azerbaijan said today there is hope for a settlement.

Representatives from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe
have been trying to resolve the dispute between Armenia and Azerbaijan over
the Nagorno-Karabakh enclave that ethnic Armenian forces seized more than a
decade ago. A truce was agreed to in 1994 but both countries continue to lay
claim to the enclave.

U.S. diplomat Steve Mann, speaking in Baku, said much was possible “if we
can count on the goodwill and the desire of the Azerbaijani and Armenian
people” to reach a settlement.

The U.S., Russia, and France co-chair the OSCE’s so-called Minsk Group
attempting to resolve the long-standing conflict between the two Caucasian
nations.