AZERI MINISTER OFFERS KARABAKH AUTONOMY

Turkish Daily News
Jan 22 2008
Turkey

Armenian troops need to leave Azerbaijan’s Nagorno-Karabakh region
which they occupied in 1992 because their presence threatens the
security of oil and gas pipelines and prevents further economic
integration in the region, said Azerbaijan’s foreign minister.

Writing in the Wall Street Journal, Elmar Mammadyarov said his country
prefers a diplomatic solution; Armenia itself will benefit from
regional development and the departure of its forces from Azerbaijan
would improve relations with Turkey.

Organized crime, terrorism and smuggling flourish in a region where
borders are disputed, the minister wrote.

Azerbaijan will be willing to give Nagorno-Karabakh "the widest
possible autonomy," he said. Resolving the issue will let the region
integrate further with Europe as well as pursue links to China and
Russia, the minister wrote.

Nagorno-Karabakh is situated in southwestern Azerbaijan, in a
rich fertile area. In the early 1920s, the Soviets established
the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region, within Azerbaijan. It has
a predominantly Armenian population. The late 1980s witnessed
Armenian discontent and ethnic frictions exploded into furious
violence. After the escalation of the violence, the ethnic Azeri
population fled Karabakh and Armenia while ethnic Armenians fled the
rest of Azerbaijan. Karabakh declared itself an independent republic in
late 1991 following the break-up of the Soviet Union. Despite the lack
of formal declaration of war, large-scale fighting broke out between
Azerbaijani and Armenian forces. The ethnic Armenians then pushed on to
occupy Azerbaijani territory outside Karabakh and created a buffer zone
linking Karabakh and Armenia. A Russian-brokered ceasefire was signed
in 1994 that resulted in de facto Armenian control in Karabakh. Yet,
no final settlement has ever been signed since then and it remains
a contentious issue between Armenia and Azerbaijan.