ARMENIAN, AZERBAIJANI LEADERS AGREE TO INTENSIFY PEACE TALKS

Voice of America
Nov 2 2008

The leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan have agreed to intensify talks
aimed at ending a decades-long conflict over the disputed territory
of Nagorno-Karabakh.

The announcement came Sunday in Moscow, following a one-on-one
meeting between Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and his Armenian
counterpart, Serzh Sarkisyan. The two leaders were later joined by
Russian President Dmitri Medvedev, who sponsored the meeting.

In a statement, the two Caucasus leaders said they are ready to
continue pushing toward a "political settlement" to the conflict. They
said they have agreed to instruct their foreign ministers to step
up negotiations.

The Armenian-populated enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh declared
independence from Azerbaijan in 1988, sparking a six-year armed
conflict that claimed 35,000 lives. A 1994 cease-fire has been
periodically interrupted by firefights.

Moscow is vying with Washington for influence in energy-rich
Azerbaijan, a key exporter of oil and natural gas through pipelines
that run through Georgia and Turkey.

The United States, Russia and France co-chair an international panel,
the Minsk Group, that has sought to mediate the Nagorno-Karabakh
dispute.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP and AP.