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Swiss President Urges New Phase In Karabakh Peace Talks

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  • Swiss President Urges New Phase In Karabakh Peace Talks

    SWISS PRESIDENT URGES NEW PHASE IN KARABAKH PEACE TALKS

    Agence France Presse
    June 2, 2014 Monday 5:08 PM GMT

    BAKU, June 02 2014

    Swiss President Didier Burkhalter on Monday urged arch-foes Azerbaijan
    and Armenia to step up efforts for a peaceful solution to their
    conflict over the disputed Nagorny Karabakh region.

    On a visit to Baku, Burkhalter -- who is also chairman of the
    Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) --
    "called on the sides to strictly adhere to the ceasefire agreement"
    and increase efforts for the conflict's peaceful settlement, the OSCE
    said in a statement.

    Burkhalter backed a proposal for a meeting in Paris between the
    Armenian and Azerbaijani presidents that "should mark the beginning of
    a new phase in peace talks," he was quoted as saying by Azerbaijan's
    state news agency, Azertag.

    In Baku, the Swiss president was beginning a three-day visit to the
    South Caucasus which will see him holding high-level talks in Georgia
    on Tuesday and Armenia Wednesday.

    There has been an increase in violence in recent months along the
    Azerbaijan-Armenia border and at the Karabakh frontline, with both
    sides regularly accusing the other of tit-for-tat raids.

    Armenia-backed separatists seized Nagorny Karabakh from Azerbaijan in
    a 1990s war that killed 30,000 people. Despite years of negotiations
    since a 1994 ceasefire, the two sides have yet to sign a peace deal.

    Azerbaijan has threatened to take back the disputed region by force
    if negotiations do not yield results, while Armenia has vowed to
    retaliate against any military action.

    The Karabakh peace talks are mediated by the so-called OSCE Minsk
    Group co-chaired by France, Russia, and the United States.

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