AZERBAIJAN TALKS PEACE

Morning Star
November 3, 2008 Monday
UK

Armenia and Azerbaijan agreed yesterday to intensify talks to end a
20-year conflict over the disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh.

The pledge was made during discussions outside Moscow hosted by
Russia’s president, that lasted less than three hours.

Nagorno-Karabakh has been under the control of ethnic Armenian forces
since a six-year conflict that killed about 30,000 and displaced 1
million people, before a truce was reached in 1994. Sporadic clashes
have continued.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev proposed the talks last month.

Presidents Serge Sarkisian of Armenia and Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan
agreed to instruct their foreign ministers "to speed up further moves
in the negotiating process," the declaration said.

The foreign ministers will work with Russia, the US and France on
a settlement.

Washington and Moscow have both pointed to Georgia’s war with Russia
in August as underlining the need to settle other regional conflicts
through talks.