ARMENIAN PRESIDENT PRAISES PROGRESS ON TURKEY TALKS

By VOA News
25 September 2008

Armenia’s president told the United Nations General Assembly Thursday
that "the time has come" to solve Armenian-Turkish problems.

Serzh Sargsyan addresses the 63rd session of the United Nations
General Assembly, 25 Sept. 2008 Serzh Sargsyan praised the outcome of
a recent meeting with his Turkish counterpart, Abdullah Gul, saying
Mr. Gul shares his determination to move quickly and resolutely in
that direction.

Turning to another regional conflict, Mr. Sargsyan criticized what
he called Azerbaijan’s "belligerent" stance on the breakaway region
of Nagorno-Karabakh. Nevertheless, he vowed to continue negotiations
with Azerbaijan to seek recognition of the largely Armenian-inhabited
region, which he characterized as effectively independent.

The Armenian president also denounced the recent bloodshed in the South
Caucasus, which he said threatened the entire region and beyond. He
said the General Assembly must work to modernize its institutions
and prevent a return to Cold War-era divisions.

Ethnic Armenians in the Nagorno-Karabakh area declared independence
from Azerbaijan in 1988, triggering a six-year conflict between
Azerbaijan and Armenia. A cease-fire was declared in 1994, but sporadic
exchanges of gunfire continue. The conflict has claimed 35,000 lives.

Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev recently met with his Russian
counterpart, Dmitri Medvedev, and called on Russia to continue what
he called its "active role" in settling the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.