Mediators seeking resolution of disputed enclave to meet with Karabakh
officials

.c The Associated Press

YEREVAN, Armenia (AP) – Foreign mediators were slated to meet with
officials in the disputed enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh Wednesday amid
renewed efforts to settle the enclave’s status and resolve the
long-running conflict.

The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe is trying find
a solution to the long-running dispute over the mountainous region,
which was seized by ethnic Armenian forces in a war with Azerbaijan in
the 1990s.

A cease-fire was signed in 1994, but the enclave’s final status has
not been determined and shooting breaks out frequently between the two
sides which face off across a demilitarized buffer zone.

The diplomats from Russia, the United States and France were scheduled
to arrive in the Armenian capital then fly immediately to
Nagorno-Karabakh’s main city, Stepanakert, before returning to Yerevan
for more talks.

The OSCE mediators on Tuesday met with officials in Azerbaijan, whose
president, Ilham Aliev, last month said there were signs of progress
in resolving the dispute.

However, Russian envoy Yuri Merzlyakov said Tuesday that it was
unlikely negotiations would be completed in time for an August meeting
of the rival nations’ presidents on the sidelines of an gathering of
ex-Soviet leaders.

07/13/05 03:01 EDT