Agence France Presse — English
November 29, 2007 Thursday 5:35 PM GMT

Mediators present plan to end Nagorno Karabakh dispute

MADRID, Nov 29 2007

An international group mediating the dispute between Armenia and
Azerbaijan over the separatist region of Nagorno-Karabakh said
Thursday it had presented both sides with a plan to end the conflict.

It is "an official offer of the three mediating countries to propose
to the sides to discuss the overall concept of conflict settlement,"
said Bernard Fassier, the French co-president of the OSCE’s Minsk
group which is mediating the dispute.

He declined to provide details, but said it is "not a new proposal.

"It’s a comprehensive presentation of all the basic principles which
could pave the way for drafting a peace settlement," he told
journalists on the sidelines of the annual meeting of foreign
ministers of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and
Development (OSCE).

He said the offer was handed to the foreign ministers of both
countries so that they "will have a basis for discussion at any
moment," particularly in view of upcoming presidential elections in
both Armenia and in Azerbaijan.

Nagorno-Karabakh’s break from Azerbaijan in 1991 precipitated a
full-blown war between the former Soviet republic and its neighbour
Armenia, claiming some 25,000 lives before ending with a ceasefire in
1994. The region’s status remains unsettled, despite years of
diplomatic talks.

The Minsk Group was created in 1992 by the OSCE to bring about a
peaceful resolution between the two countries.

The co-chairs of the Minsk group are Russia, the United States and
France.

Representatives of the group plan to travel to Armenia and Azerbaijan
by the end of January to gauge the views of both governments to the
plan, Fassier said.

About 40 countries are attending the conference of the OSCE, Europe’s
security watchdog, which runs until Friday.