Radio Netherlands
Nov 22 2009

Progress made in Nagorno-Karabakh talks

Published on 22 November 2009 – 9:57pm

Progress has been made in the Nagorno-Karabakh talks between Armenia
and Azerbaijan, which are currently being held in the southern German
city of München.

However, mediators from the Organisation for Security and Cooperation
in Europe (OSCE) say the talks have not been without difficulties. On
Saturday, Azeri President Ilham Aliyev threatened to take over the
region by force, if the talks failed.

The enclave was once allocated to the mainly Muslim Azerbaijan by
Soviet Union leader Joseph Stalin. When the Soviet Union
disintegrated, the mainly Christian Armenian people of the region
fought for independence. Armenia supported them.

Tensions in the region increased recently when Turkey reached
agreement with Armenia on open borders in an effort to improve
relations between the two countries. The Azerbaijanis are furious as
Turkey has said it will only sign the agreement if Armenia makes
concessions with regard to the enclave. Sixteen years ago, Turkey
closed the borders as a sign of solidarity with Azerbaijan.

Some 30,000 people died and more than one million were made homeless
before a ceasefire was declared in Nagorno-Karabakh in 1993. A deal
could mean Nagorno-Karabakh giving back a number of districts to
Azerbaijan in return for greater international recognition.

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