NAGORNO-KARABAKH MAY BE RESOLVED IN MONTHS

The Guide to Global Muslim Culture
Dec 1 2009

France said on Tuesday it hoped the years-long conflict between Armenia
and Azerbaijan over the breakaway mountain region of Nagorno-Karabakh
would be resolved "in months". France, Russia and the United States
form OSCE’s Minsk group, which is leading peace negotiations. On
Tuesday, they met the Armenian and Azeri foreign ministers in Athens
and issued a statement saying progress had been made.

"They stated the willingness of their countries to complete the work,"
said the statement read by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

"They reaffirmed their commitment to work intensively to resolve the
remaining issues."

Tensions over the breakaway mountain region are rising, with
oil-producing Azerbaijan angry at a deal between ally Turkey and
Armenia to open their border, 16 years after Ankara closed it in
solidarity with Azerbaijan during the Nagorno-Karabakh war.

Turkey says it will only go through with its deal with Armenia if the
latter makes concessions on Nagorno-Karabakh, where ethnic Armenians
backed by Christian Armenia broke away from Muslim Azerbaijan as
the Soviet Union headed towards its 1991 collapse. Some 30,000
people died and more than one million were made homeless before a
ceasefire was declared in Nagorno-Karabakh in 1993. The territory
wants recognition as an independent state, but without a full peace
deal sporadic exchanges of fire continue to threaten fresh conflict.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress