ARMENIA THREATENS AZERBAIJAN WITH KARABAKH RECOGNITION

Agence France Presse
Nov 23 2009
France

Armenia on Monday threatened to recognise Azerbaijan’s breakaway
Nagorny Karabakh region as an independent state if Baku takes military
action to reclaim the territory.

"Armenia so far has not recognised the independence of Karabakh
for only one reason — so that it does not become an obstacle in the
process of peace negotiations," Armenian presidential spokesman Samvel
Farmanian said in a statement.

"If peace talks fail and military actions begin, nothing will prevent
Armenia from recognising the independence of Karabakh," he said.

Tensions over the disputed region have risen after Armenia and close
Azerbaijani ally Turkey signed an historic deal to establish diplomatic
ties and re-open their border.

On Saturday, Azerbaijani news agencies quoted President Ilham Aliyev
as saying that Baku has the right to retake Nagorny Karabakh by force
if ongoing peace talks fail to produce any results.

Aliyev met with his Armenian counterpart Serzh Sarkisian in Germany
on Sunday for the sixth round of talks this year on resolving the
conflict.

International mediators said in a statement after the talks that
"progress was made" but that "some issues still remain open."

Backed by Yerevan, ethnic Armenian forces seized control of Nagorny
Karabakh and seven surrounding districts from Azerbaijan in the early
1990s, in a war that claimed an estimated 30,000 lives.

Armenian and Azerbaijani forces are spread across a ceasefire line in
and around Nagorny Karabakh, often facing each other at close range,
and shootings are common.

Azerbaijani media reported Monday that an Azerbaijani civilian had
been shot dead by Armenian forces near the de facto border with Nagorny
Karabakh over the weekend, but the rebel region’s armed forces denied
the reports.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress