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Envoys Urge Restraint After Karabakh Clashes

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  • Envoys Urge Restraint After Karabakh Clashes

    ENVOYS URGE RESTRAINT AFTER KARABAKH CLASHES
    Matt Robinson

    Reuters
    Sept 6 2010

    TBILISI, Sept 6 (Reuters) - Envoys in the Caucasus conflict over
    rebel Nagorno-Karabakh called for restraint on Monday after deadly
    clashes between Azeri and Armenian forces and said they would step
    up mediation.

    At least four soldiers have died in skirmishes in the past week
    near the mountain region, where Christian ethnic Armenians backed
    by Armenia threw off rule by Muslim Azerbaijan as the Soviet Union
    headed towards collapse two decades ago.

    The unresolved conflict remains a constant threat to stability in
    the strategic South Caucasus, a transit region for oil and gas from
    the Caspian Sea and Central Asia to the West.

    Russia, French and American mediators of the Organisation for Security
    and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) said they deplored the "useless loss
    of life".

    They said they would consider how to strengthen the ceasefire, hold
    discussions on the margins of the U.N. General Assembly this month
    and assess the humanitarian situation on the ground, before an OSCE
    summit in Kazakhstan in December.

    "During this period of intense activity, the Co-Chairs urge all parties
    to respect strictly the cease-fire and to exercise restraint on the
    ground," the so-called Minsk Group co-chairmen said in a statement.

    "In response to the most recent incidents along the Line of Contact,
    they also strongly condemn any violation of the ceasefire, in
    particular incursions across the Line of Contact."

    Armenian-backed forces have held Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding
    Azeri districts forming a land corridor with Armenia since a ceasefire
    was declared in 1994, but a peace deal remains elusive. An estimated
    30,000 people died during the war and more than a million were
    displaced.

    Reported skirmishes appear to have intensified over the past 12
    months, and oil-producing Azerbaijan -- its military spending hugely
    outstripping that of Armenia -- frequently threatens to take back
    the heavily fortified region by force.

    Both sides have accused the other of launching "sabotage" attacks
    across the front lines over the past week. Four Azeri soldiers have
    been confirmed killed.

    Renewed conflict would have devastating consequences for the region
    and could draw in neighbouring powers Russia and Turkey. Failure to
    reach a settlement was behind the collapse in April of an historic
    deal to mend ties between Turkey and Armenia.

    Azerbaijan hosts oil majors including BP, ExxonMobil and Chevron,
    and the BP-led Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline that ships 850,000
    barrels per day of high quality Azeri crude to the Mediterranean,
    skirting Nagorno-Karabakh.




    From: A. Papazian
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