Trend News Agency, Azerbaijan
Feb 14 2009

Turkey, Russia to exert efforts to continue negotiations between Baku,
Yerevan
14.02.09 12:40

Turkish President Abdullah Gul and Russian President Dmitriy Medvedev
agreed to continue their efforts to settle the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict, the Turkish daily Milliyet reported.

Gul told journalists that he thanked Russia for promoting
Azerbaijani-Armenian negotiations. Ankara and Moscow will continue
their efforts to resolve the conflict.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988
when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan
lost all of Nagorno-Karabakh except for Shusha and Khojali in December
1991. In 1992-93, Armenian armed forces occupied Shusha, Khojali and 7
districts surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh. Azerbaijan and Armenia signed
a ceasefire in 1994. The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group ` Russia,
France, and the U.S. ` are currently holding the peace negotiations.