NO PROGRESS IN AZERI-ARMENIAN TALKS
Alalam News Network, Iran
June 13 2007
BAKU, June 13–A weekend meeting between Presidents Robert Kocharian
of Armenia and Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan has failed to make a
breakthrough on the status of the mountain territory of Nagorny
Karabakh, Azerbaijan’s foreign minister says.
"No breakthrough was made at talks between Armenia and Azerbaijan in
Saint Petersburg," Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov told reporters.
The two presidents held a two-hour one-on-one meeting on Sunday during
an informal gathering of heads of state of the CIS (Commonwealth of
Independent States) group of the former Soviet Union republics in
Saint Petersburg, Mammadyarov said.
Western diplomats have indicated that an agreement could be signed
by the end of this year on basic principles for resolving the dispute
over Nagorny Karabakh.
The two former Soviet republics have remained at loggerheads since
they fought a war in the early 1990s, with corrosive effects for the
whole Caucasus region.
Mammadyarov said the two sides need time to "analyze the situation"
before continuing talks.
Iran has made mediation efforts between the two republics so far and
called for the two parties to hold direct talks to reach a settlement
on Karabakh.
The two presidents’ meeting is encouraging and a major step forward
to resolve the bilateral dispute.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
