By empty (9/1/2006 issue of the CACI Analyst)
The foreign ministers of Azerbaijan and Armenia may meet in mid-September to outline principles for resolving a long-running territorial dispute, the Azeri media said Friday. The conflict between the two former Soviet republics over Nagorno-Karabakh, a region in Azerbaijan with a largely Armenian population, first erupted in 1988 when it claimed independence from Azerbaijan to join Armenia. Over 30,000 people were killed on both sides between 1988 and 1994, and over 100 died following a 1994 ceasefire.
The foreign ministers of Azerbaijan and Armenia may meet in mid-September to outline principles for resolving a long-running territorial dispute, the Azeri media said Friday. The conflict between the two former Soviet republics over Nagorno-Karabakh, a region in Azerbaijan with a largely Armenian population, first erupted in 1988 when it claimed independence from Azerbaijan to join Armenia. Over 30,000 people were killed on both sides between 1988 and 1994, and over 100 died following a 1994 ceasefire. Nagorno-Karabakh remained in Armenian hands, but tensions between Azerbaijan and Armenia have persisted. Azeri Foreign Minister Elmar Mamedyarov said Thursday he spoke by telephone with Bernard Fasier, the French co-chairman of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Minsk Group, who suggested the next round of conflict-resolution talks could be held in Paris September 12-13, or in London September 14-15. The OSCE Minsk Group was created in 1992 to encourage a peaceful resolution to the conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia over Nagorno-Karabakh. The group is co-chaired by U.S., Russian and French representatives. Mamedyarov said he agreed to meet with his Armenian counterpart, Vardan Oskanyan, and was discussing the format to be adopted for the talks. \"We will contact Fasier again later and coordinate the time and place of the meeting,\" the Azeri FM said. Azerbaijan and Armenia held the latest round of Nagorno-Karabakh talks June 13 in Paris. (RIA Novosti)