Azerbaijan proposes restoring traffic to Armenia through disputed
enclave
AP Worldstream; Jun 20, 2005
Azerbaijan has proposed restoring traffic to Armenia through the
disputed enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh, the country’s Deputy Foreign
Minister Araz Azimov said Monday.
The made the proposal last week during a meeting of the two countries’
foreign ministers in Paris, Azimov said.
Azerbaijan “expects a positive response on this issue,” he told
reporters, pointing out that reopening traffic could act as a
confidence-building measure between the two adversaries.
The proposed road would pass through Nagorno-Karabakh into Armenia
proper and then end in the Azerbaijani enclave of Nakhichevan, which
borders Turkey, a close ally of Azerbaijan.
Nagorno-Karabakh has been under control of ethnic Armenians since a
six-year war against Azerbaijani forces ended with a 1994
cease-fire. The war killed some 30,000 people and drove a million from
their homes. The enclave of Nakhichevan is legally part of Azerbaijan,
but is cut off from Azerbaijan proper by Armenia.