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Azerbaijan's FM lifts veil on Nagorno-Karabakh talks

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  • Azerbaijan's FM lifts veil on Nagorno-Karabakh talks

    Azerbaijan's FM lifts veil on Nagorno-Karabakh talks

    Date:01 May 2004 0136 hrs (SST)
    URL:http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_world/view/82659/1/.html

    BAKU : Azerbaijan and Armenia, which are locked in conflict over the
    disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh, are discussing a deal under
    which Armenian forces would cede territory in exchange for the
    re-opening of a rail link between their two countries, the Azeri
    foreign minister said.

    "We are discussing various ideas, including the option of opening the
    railway with Armenia in exchange for it pulling back from the seven
    districts of Azerbaijan it has occupied," Foreign Minister Elmar
    Mamedyarov told reporters.

    He added: "The subject of our negotiations right now is how ready the
    sides are to make compromises."

    The railway-for-land swap was initially proposed by the European Union
    as a way of resolving the conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh, which has
    poisoned relations between the two former Soviet republics for more
    than a decade.

    Azerbaijan and Armenia fought a war over the mountainous enclave in
    the early 1990s which left some 35,000 people dead and forced a
    million others on both sides to flee their homes.

    A ceasefire was signed in 1994, leaving Armenian forces in de facto
    control of the enclave. But the war has never been formally declared
    over. Peace talks to find a lasting solution have faltered, despite
    mediation by the international community.

    The remarks by the Azeri foreign minister partly lifted the veil on
    peace talks which are being held in strict secrecy. Details of what
    the two sides are discussing are very rarely revealed to the public.

    Western governments are keen to see a lasting solution to the
    Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. They say it is a source of instability in a
    region which is taking on strategic importance for the West as an
    export route for oil from the Caspian Sea.

    Mamedyarov said the next round of talks would be in the French city of
    Strasbourg on May 12, when he is to meet Armenian counterpart Vardan
    Oskanian on the sidelines of a Council of Europe meeting.

    He said they would pick up the discussions started by Azerbaijan's
    President Ilham Aliyev and his Armenian counterpart Robert Kocharian,
    who met for talks this week while attending a conference in the Polish
    capital, Warsaw.

    "In Warsaw there was a useful exchange of views between the presidents
    and our aim is to continue that dialogue," said Mamedyarov.

    The railway line under discussion has been closed ever since the
    conflict first flared up, some 15 years ago. It remained shut after
    the fighting ceased as part of an economic blockade imposed by
    Azerbaijan.

    It links Armenia to Azerbaijan and also to Russia, a key Armenian ally
    and trading partner. The re-opening of the route would ease the impact
    of the economic blockade on Armenia.

    The seven districts which figure in the proposed deal are not part of
    Nagorno-Karabakh. They were seized by Armenian forces during the war
    to provide a buffer zone against a possible attack by Azeri troops.

    - AFP
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