MEDIATORS URGE ARMENIA, AZERBAIJAN TO SETTLE NAGORNO-KARABAKH CONFLICT

AP Worldstream
Jul 03, 2006

International mediators on Monday urged the presidents of Armenia and
Azerbaijan to settle their dispute over the Nagorno-Karabakh territory.

The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe’s so-called
Minsk Group, chaired by the United States, Russia and France, said
that its proposals discussed at a meeting last month "hold the best
potential for achieving a just and lasting settlement of the conflict."

Nagorno-Karabakh is in Azerbaijan, but the territory and some
surrounding areas have been under control of Karabakh and Armenian
forces since a shaky cease-fire in 1994 ended a six-year separatist
war that killed about 30,000 people and drove about 1 million from
their homes.

The principles the mediators proposed last month included withdrawing
Armenian troops from the Azerbaijani territories surrounding
Nagorno-Karabakh, according to a statement from the Minsk Group,
but it suggested a corridor linking Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh
would remain under Armenian control.

The principles "could pave the way for the two sides to draft a
far-reaching settlement agreement," the mediators said. They also
include deploying international peacekeepers, resettling displaced
people and a referendum _ its timing and format to be worked out
later _ on the final legal status of Nagorno-Karabakh.

In the statement, the mediators expressed regret that Armenian
President Robert Kocharian and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliev did
not reach an agreement on the principles when they met in early June
in Bucharest, Romania.

The mediators "strongly believe that it is now time for the two
presidents to take the initiative for achieving a breakthrough in the
settlement process based on these principles," the statement said. The
mediators are ready to help "if the parties decide to pursue the
talks with the political will that has thus far been lacking," it said.

Armenian and Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry officials each indicated
Monday that their governments consider the principles an acceptable
basis for further negotiations, but accused each other of hindering
efforts to reach a settlement.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress