Xinhua, China
Nov 2 2008

Leaders of Russia, Armenia, Azerbaijan sign declaration on Nagorny
Karabakh conflict

2008-11-03 00:10:05

MOSCOW, Nov. 2 (Xinhua) — The presidents of Russia, Armenia and
Azerbaijan Sunday signed a joint declaration on the peaceful
settlement of the disputed territory of Nagorno Karabakh.

The parties pledge to improve the situation in the South Caucasus
and affirm the importance of OSCE mediation, said the declaration,
which was read at a signing ceremony outside Moscow by Russian
President Dmitry Medvedev.

The leaders agreed that "the peaceful settlement should be
accompanied by legally binding international guarantees of all aspects
and stages," the document reads.

Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham
Aliyev agreed to continue their work on the political settlement to
the conflict and instructed their foreign ministers to speed up the
negotiation process.

Nagorny Karabakh, a Azerbaijani region with a large Armenian
population, declared independence from Azerbaijan in the early 1990s
and has been a source of conflict ever since.

Editor: Yan