BRYZA LIFTS VEIL OF SECRECY FROM COORDINATED PRINCIPLES ON KARABAKH

PanARMENIAN.Net
01.06.2007 15:33 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Armenia and Azerbaijan have made substantial progress
toward a settlement on control of a disputed territory, Matthew Bryza,
the chief U.S. mediator in the talks said. After more than a decade of
efforts by international mediators to broker a deal on the territory of
Nagorno Karabakh, the Azerbaijani and Armenian Presidents are close to
solving most remaining obstacles to an agreement on basic principles,
according to him.

President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan and Armenian President Robert
Kocharian are expected to focus on the sticking points during talks
in St. Petersburg, Russia, on June 9. "If the St. Petersburg meeting
is successful, then the number of differences remaining on basic
principles could be reduced to close to zero," Bryza said.

Diplomats from the OSCE Minsk Group of mediators from Russia, France
and the United States have in the past expressed optimism toward
breakthroughs on the difficult dispute only to see negotiations
turn backward.

Bryza would not identify the unresolved issues, but he outlined some of
the basic principles already reached for a potential resolution. The
two sides have agreed on the return of districts surrounding Nagorno
Karabakh that are also under ethnic Armenian control.

Bryza would not say whether there is an agreement on the return of
refugees to the region or on any compensation for those who fled
the territory.

Bryza praised the two sides for making progress on an issue that
stirs passions within both countries. "The leadership of Armenia
and Azerbaijan should be lauded for their courage in trying to bring
stability and prosperity to their peoples," he said, The Associated
Press reports.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress