Agence France Presse
July 10 2009

Armenia-Turkey reconciliation must not affect Karabakh: rebels

STEPANAKERT, Azerbaijan, July 10 2009

The reconciliation process between Armenia and Turkey must not be
linked to the resolution of the Nagorny Karabakh conflict, the leader
of Azerbaijan’s separatist enclave said Friday.

"Karabakh’s independence is an accomplished fact and can not be under
discussion," separatist leader Bako Sahakian told journalists on the
sidelines of the All-Armenian Conference on Karabakh.

"Progress in Armenian-Turkish relations can not and must not be made
to the detriment of the Karabakh conflict’s settlement," he said.

"Such attempts to tie up the issues which lie in different planes will
certainly lead to a deadlock."

Nagorny Karabakh, inhabited mostly by ethnic Armenians and effectively
controlled by Armenia, declared independence from Azerbaijan in 1991,
sparking a conflict that, according to differing estimates, claimed
between 25,000 and 30,000 lives and displaced up to a million people.

A ceasefire ended large-scale hostilities in 1994 but the dispute is
far from resolved and sporadic shooting incidents continue between
Armenian and Azerbaijani forces.

One of Azerbaijan’s staunchest allies, Turkey severed ties with
Armenia, closed the two countries’ shared border and imposed an
economic blockade on Yerevan to protest its backing of Karabakh
separatists.

Turkey and Armenia recently agreed to move towards normalising
relations, but Ankara insists that Karabakh’s return to Azerbaijan is
a pre-condition for full reconciliation.

Karabakh’s self-styled government is not recognised by any other
state.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress