MOSCOW TALKS ON KARABAKH WILL FACILITATE PEACEFUL SETTLEMENT – ALIYEV

Interfax
Nov 5 2008
Russia

A joint declaration on Nagorno-Karabakh, signed in Moscow, provides a
good foundation for a peaceful settlement of the Karabakh problem,
Azeri President Ilham Aliyev said after talks with his Turkish
counterpart Abdullah Gul in Ankara on Wednesday.

"The idea of the declaration is that it reflects international law,
and supports the decisions and resolutions adopted in compliance
with international law. It also gives attention to a step-by-step
settlement of the problem," he said.

The Azeri president also underscored Turkey’s role in settling this
problem. "We thank Turkey for the efforts being made to settle this
problem fairly, and welcome its active role in these processes,"
he said.

The Turkish president in turn said that the meetings, the dialogue
and the conditions being created would facilitate the settlement of
problems in the Caucasus.

"The Karabakh conflict ranks first in this context, of course. I
would say a new stage is beginning in the settlement. Turkey supports
meetings between presidents Aliyev and Sargsyan in Moscow, and hopes
this practice will be continued. We would like each party to do all
it can in this direction," Gul said.

The Russian, Azeri and Armenian presidents met in Moscow on Sunday
and signed a declaration on the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict, earlier reports said.

The parties "will work to improve the situation in the South Caucasus
and to create an atmosphere of stability and security in the region
by way of political settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict based
on the principles and norms of international law," the document says.

The parties have agreed that "the attainment of peaceful settlement
must be backed by legally binding international guarantees for all
its aspects and stages," the declaration says.