US OFFICIAL SAYS ARMENIA-AZERBAIJAN AGREEMENT MAY BE NEAR
by Alexander Plakhov

ITAR-TASS News Agency
May 17, 2006 Wednesday

A State Department official said on Tuesday they were optimistic
about the possibility of a peace agreement between Azerbaijan and
Armenia over the disputed enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh.

“The two sides are closer to an agreement than they have been in the
past,” said Matthew Bryza, State Department European affairs expert.

He spoke to a meeting of the Congressional Human Rights Caucus,
which was convened to examine humanitarian suffering in the region
a dozen years after the war over Nagorno-Karabakh ended.

Bryza said the Armenian and Azerbaijani governments will have to show
political courage to bridge the final gaps. “We look at these next
couple of months as a real window of opportunity,” he said.

Earlier, Anne Derse, who is nominated ambassador to Azerbaijan, said
Washington hopes that Azerbaijani President Ilkham Aliyev and Armenian
President Robert Kocharyan will reach agreement on Nagorno-Karabakh.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress