ARMENIA, AZERBAIJAN CLOSE TO NAGORNY PACT; WORK REMAINS – ICG

London bureau, Dow Jones Newswires
OCTOBER 7, 2009, 10:32 A.M. ET

LONDON (Dow Jones)–Armenia and Azerbaijan are close to a breakthrough in
efforts to resolve their conflict over the disputed Nagorny Karabakh region,
although more must be done to counter "skepticism and cynicism" on both
sides, the International Crisis Group said Wednesday.

With both countries in broad agreement on principles outlined by
international mediators, a meeting Thursday between Armenian President Serzh
Sarkisian and his Azerbaijan counterpart, Ilham Aliyev, allows an
opportunity to maintain momentum toward peace, the ICG said.

It said both presidents must do more to end public mistrust in the
negotiating process and engage their populations in "genuine debate" about
the options for the disputed territory.

The ICG said more needs to be done "to emphasize the dangers in clinging to
an untenable status quo" and said awareness needs to be raised on both sides
of the necessity of compromise.

Inside Azerbaijan territory, Nagorny Karabakh has been in the hands of
Armenian separatists since a short, brutal war in the early 1990s. Around
3,000 people have been killed in the region since a ceasefire was declared
in 1994.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress