Russia, Armenia, Azerbaijan to discuss Nagorny Karabakh
11:50 | 02/ 11/ 2008
MOSCOW, November 2 (RIA Novosti) – The leaders of Russia, Armenia and
Azerbaijan are meeting in Moscow on Sunday to discuss the settlement of
the Nagorny Karabakh conflict.
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian President Serzh
Sargsyan will meet in the presence of Russian President Dmitry Medvedev
to discuss a settlement to the conflict.
Medvedev announced plans to invite his Azerbaijani and Armenian
counterparts to the negotiating table in Moscow while on a visit to
Yerevan on October 21.
He said Georgia’s August attack on South Ossetia had underlined the
need to settle complicated issues only on the basis of international
principles and negotiation.
In his inauguration speech on October 24, Aliyev said he categorically
opposed independence for Nagorny Karabakh, a region in Azerbaijan with
a largely Armenian population. The region declared its independence
from Azerbaijan to join Armenia in 1988 and has been a source of
conflict ever since.
Aliyev, who was reelected for the second term on October 15, said
however, that talks could lead to a fair settlement.
Sargsyan said Armenia was ready to continue talks on the basis of the
Madrid principles which allow for the recognition of Nagorny Karabakh’s
independence.
Russia’s Vremya Novostei daily earlier reported that the meeting
involving the three presidents, which have all been inaugurated this
year, would be particularly interesting.
"The five-day war between Russia and Georgia has moved this conflict
from the frozen-conflict category to the more dangerous category of
conflicts set to ‘defrost’ quickly or even ‘reheat,’" the newspaper
said.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
