Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev thanked his Russian counterpart
Dmitry Medvedev for active participation in the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict settlement, RIA Novosti reports.
Aliyev noted that the settlement process is only possible based on the
norms and principles of international law, as well as international
resolutions.
The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict started in February 1988 when the
Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh declared independence from
Azerbaijani Soviet Republic. In 1991 in the center of the
Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Republic, Stepanakert, the
Nagorno-Karabakh Republic was proclaimed. Baku did not recognize this
and discontinued the autonomy of Nagorno-Karabakh.
An armed conflict followed and lasted until May 12, 1994, when a
cease-fire was declared. Azerbaijan lost control of seven regions.
Since 1992 negotiations over settlement of the conflict have been held
within the OSCE Minsk Group, chaired by the USA, Russia, France.
Azerbaijan insists on territorial unity. Armenia supports the
breakaway republic.
In the last two years, there have already been seven trilateral
meetings between the leaders of Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan. The last
one was held in Astrakhan on October 27. The sides agreed to exchange
bodies of those killed in fighting.
Medvedev said that principles of settling the conflict remain
undetermined. But if the sides work hard this month they may come up
with a variant of settling the conflict for the OSCE summit in
Kazakhstan on December 1-2.
