ARMENIA READY TO RETURN TERRITORIES AROUND NAGORNO-KARABAKH
The Voice of Russia
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March 23 2010
Armenia is ready to return the territories around Nagorno-Karabakh
to Azerbaijan but on certain conditions, Armenia’s president Serzh
Sargsyan said in an interview to Syria’s Al Watan newspaper. According
to him, Yerevan should continue to control Nagorno-Karabakh and
the corridor linking the region with Armenia. The conflict emerged
in February 1988 when the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous District
populated mainly by Armenians broke away from Azerbaijan. Baku
responded by abolishing Karabakh’s autonomy. Azerbaijan lost control
over the region and 7 surrounding territories in the armed conflict
that followed. The status of the region is still undefined. Armenia
insists on Karabakh’s independence and Azerbaijan on it being the
part of the country. Since 1992, representatives of both governments
have been holding peace talks mediated by the OSCE Minsk group also
featuring Russia, the US and France.