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Monday, 29 August 2005
ARMENIAN, AZERBAIJANI PRESIDENTS MEET
By empty (8/29/2005 issue of the CACI Analyst)
President Kocharian met on 27 August in Kazan on the sidelines of a CIS summit with his Azerbaijani counterpart Ilham Aliyev to discuss approaches to resolving the Karabakh conflict, news agencies from both countries reported. The two presidents first met one-on-one and then were joined by the co-chairmen of the OSCE Minsk Group but, contrary to expectations, not by Russian President Vladimir Putin. No details of the specific issues discussed were made public, but Armenian Public Television on 27 August quoted Kocharian\'s press secretary, Viktor Soghomonian, as characterizing the talks as \"a positive development in the negotiating process.
President Kocharian met on 27 August in Kazan on the sidelines of a CIS summit with his Azerbaijani counterpart Ilham Aliyev to discuss approaches to resolving the Karabakh conflict, news agencies from both countries reported. The two presidents first met one-on-one and then were joined by the co-chairmen of the OSCE Minsk Group but, contrary to expectations, not by Russian President Vladimir Putin. No details of the specific issues discussed were made public, but Armenian Public Television on 27 August quoted Kocharian\'s press secretary, Viktor Soghomonian, as characterizing the talks as \"a positive development in the negotiating process.\" Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov similarly described the talks as \"important\" while admitting, \"I cannot say there has been any major progress or breakthrough.\" (RFE/RL)