PROGRESS IN NAGORNY KARABAKH TALKS: DIPLOMATS

Agence France Presse
Dec 1 2009

ATHENS — Armenia and Azerbaijan have made progress in talks over the
disputed region of Nagorny Karabakh, senior Russian and US officials
said on Tuesday.

Meeting on the sidelines of a ministerial council of the OSCE
pan-European security watchdog in Athens, the chair countries of the
so-called Minsk Group monitoring the crisis said there was a "positive
dynamic" in talks between the Armenian and Azeri presidents who have
met six times in the past year.

"We agreed that the increasing frequency of these meetings has
significantly contributed to enhanced dialogue between the parties and
helped move forward the process of finalising the basic principles
for the peaceful settlement of the Nagorny Karabakh conflict,"
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said.

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

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

"We’re very determined to work with the parties in any way we can to
be helpful in moving the process forward," said US Assistant Secretary
of State James Steinberg.

"The next step is to continue the negotiations and preserve the
positive dynamic that we have until now," Armenian Foreign Minister
Edward Nalbandian told reporters.

Despite the ongoing effort, relations over the issue remain tense.

In late November, Armenia threatened to recognise Nagorny Karabakh
as an independent state if Baku takes military action to reclaim
the territory.