Agence France Presse
October 29, 2008 Wednesday

US welcomes Russian diplomatic move on Nagorny-Karabakh

WASHINGTON, Oct 29 2008

The United States on Wednesday welcomed Russia’s initiative to host
the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan for talks on the disputed
Nagorny Karabakh region.

"We are pleased by this initiative that Moscow is undertaking. We hope
that the initiative succeeds. We are monitoring it very closely,"
State Department spokesman Sean McCormack told reporters.

Moscow announced it will host a meeting on November 2 between
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian President Serzh
Sarkisian to help end the long-simmering conflict over Nagorny
Karabakh.

The region is an enclave of Azerbaijan with a largely ethnic Armenian
population that broke free of Baku’s control in the early 1990s.

Analysts say Moscow is keen to boost its influence in the South
Caucasus after Russia’s brief war with US-allied Georgia in August
raised tensions throughout the region.

The August war, which began when Georgia attacked its own breakaway
enclave of South Ossetia, raised fears of similar violence in Nagorny
Karabakh.