RUSSIA CALLS FOR PEACE IN DISPUTED NAGORNO-KARABAKH REGION

Xinhua

March 6 2008
China

MOSCOW, March 5 (Xinhua) — Russia on Wednesday called for immediate
action from Armenia and Azerbaijan to restore peace in the disputed
Nagorno-Karabakh area.

According to a statement released by the Russian Foreign Ministry,
Russia is seriously concerned about the military clashes in the
northwest Nagorno-Karabakh region in Azerbaijan. It said the clashes
would by no means be allowed to escalate into large-scale combat and
spill over into neighboring regions.

On Tuesday, Armenian and Azerbaijani troops exchanged fire in the
disputed Nagorno-Karabakh area, causing the deaths of three Azeri
soldiers.

Armenian Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanyan said the incident wasa
serious violation of the ceasefire agreement adopted by the two sides
in 1994.

The territory of Nagorno-Karabakh is a region in Azerbaijan populated
mostly by ethnic Armenians.

Armed conflict broke out in the early 1990s between Azerbaijan and
Armenia over the region’s status after it declared independence,
which was not recognized by the international community.

A Russian-brokered ceasefire halted the fighting in 1994, but the
dispute remains unresolved.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress