Azerbaijan welcomes Russia’s efforts to end Karabakh conflict

Azerbaijan welcomes Russia’s efforts to end Karabakh conflict

17:5202/08/2009

BAKU, August 2 (RIA Novosti) – Russia’s mediation in the dispute
between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the Nagorny Karabakh region is
producing results, Azerbaijani Defense Minister Safar Abiyev said on
Sunday.

"The efforts being taken by Russia to settle the conflict deserve
respect and are encouraging," Abiyev said during a meeting with Russian
Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov, who is on a working visit to Baku.

In July, Moscow hosted bilateral talks on Nagorny Karabakh between the
Armenian and Azerbaijani presidents, which were joined by Russian
President Dmitry Medvedev the following day.

Nagorny Karabakh, a region in Azerbaijan with a largely Armenian
population, has been a source of conflict between the former Soviet
republics since the late 1980s. The province has its own government and
is de facto independent.

The war between Azerbaijan and Armenia over the mountainous enclave in
1988-1994 left an estimated 35,000 people dead. Sporadic violence on
the border has continued ever since.

The Azerbaijani defense minister warned that if the conflict is not
resolved peacefully, military confrontation will be inevitable.