PolitInfo, Germany
Jan 5 2005
Azerbaijan President: Talks with Armenia Headed into New, Positive
Phase
Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev has expressed some optimism about
the direction peace talks with Armenia have taken.
He says efforts to resolve the conflict between Armenia and
Azerbaijan are moving into what he calls “a new, positive phase.”
Though some international entities are currently involved in
discussions, Mr. Aliyev is inviting other international organizations
to help resolve the dispute.
Azerbaijan and Armenia are longtime adversaries with differences in
ethnic, linguistic and land issues fueling their disputes. The latest
conflict began in 1988 when the Armenian majority in Nagorno-Karabakh
first asked Moscow to allow the region to join Armenia. Then in 1991,
Nagorno-Karabakh declared its independence.
Ethnic Armenian forces backed by Armenia drove Azerbaijani troops
from the enclave during a six-year war. A cease-fire began in 1994,
but the enclave’s final status has not been determined.