OSCE CONFIDENT OF END NEXT YEAR TO NAGORNO KARABAKH CONFLICT

Agence France Presse — English
December 5, 2006 Tuesday 4:53 PM GMT

The long-running conflict in the region of Nagorno-Karabakh could be
resolved over the next year, the Belgian presidency of the Organisation
for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) said Tuesday.

"There is a very good chance that we can (resolve) this conflict in
the course of next year," Belgian Foreign Minister Karel De Gucht
said in Brussels at the OSCE’s annual conference.

Armenia and Azerbaijan fought a six-year war over the Armenian-majority
enclave, which said it was seceding from Soviet Azerbaijan in the
early 1980s, and have struggled for 15 years to end the dispute over
the region’s status.

"This has been a very delicate negociating process with the direct
involvment of the presidents of Azerbaijan and Armenia," De Gucht said,
adding: "We have now a very good understanding of what we still have
to resolve."

In a declaration at the end of its conference, the 56-member OSCE
urged "the presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan to redouble their
efforts in the coming year."

The OSCE was originally set up as a point of contact between NATO
and Warsaw Pact countries, but its tasks now focus on safeguarding
human rights, democracy and the rule of law in Europe.