Bergkarabach

(Quelle: Reliefweb) It has become a familiar routine: the international community launches into a figurative drum roll of anticipation ahead of a meeting between the presidents of Azerbaijani and Armenia over the future of Nagorno-Karabakh. Expectations continue to build over the possibility of a breakthrough in stalemated negotiations. Then, following the talks, there is nothing to celebrate. … Some Azerbaijani experts suggest the negotiations are caught in a fruitless cycle, with expectations continually dashed by geopolitical realities. The 2008 presidential elections in both countries -- and the recent May parliamentary elections in Armenia -- are not especially conducive to a settlement, the experts suggest.

(Quelle: Eurasia Daily Monitor) The presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan have agreed to hold yet another face-to-face meeting that could result in a long-awaited breakthrough in international efforts to resolve the conflict over Karabakh. The U.S., French, and Russian diplomats acting under the auspices of the OSCE Minsk Group say the two warring nations have already agreed on most of the basic principles of a peaceful settlement put forward by them. The mediators hope that Presidents Robert Kocharian and Ilham Aliyev will eliminate the remaining sticking points when they meet on the sidelines of the June 9-10 summit of the Commonwealth of Independent States in St. Petersburg.

(Quelle: Eurasia Daily Monitor) Last week, Armenia and Azerbaijan marked the 13th anniversary of the cease-fire signed between the two governments in the Kyrgyz capital, Bishkek, in 1994. But not only does the situation between the two countries remain tense, the prospects for peace keep getting smaller and smaller, with the risk that the current fragile status of “no war, no peace” will break at some point. Many local analysts in Baku believe that despite the official cease-fire, cross-border shootings and murders of both soldiers and civilians has not stopped since 1994.

(Quelle: Eurasianet) Despite evidence of movement toward a settlement of the long-stalemated Nagorno-Karabakh peace talks, Azerbaijani experts remain sceptical that Azerbaijan and Armenia will settle their differences in the near future. Mediators from the OSCE’s Minsk Group have sounded optimistic notes of late about progress in negotiations. US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State and Minsk Group Co-Chair Matthew Bryza indicated in an interview with Voice of America that the two sides appeared on the verge of breakthroughs in several areas.

(Quelle: RFE / RL) Speaking on May 4 at the ceremonial inauguration of a new settlement near Baku for displaced persons who fled their homes during the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev claimed that Armenia has made key concessions regarding how that conflict is to be resolved. But both Armenian Prime Minister Serzh Sarkisian and Foreign Ministry spokesman Vladimir Karapetian immediately denied that Yerevan's negotiating position has changed in any way. Explaining his rationale for violating the unwritten agreement that details of the peace process should not be made public until all aspects are finalized, Aliyev claimed that the Armenian side has already violated that agreement by distorting the nature of the agreements reached to date, zerkalo.az reported on May 5. Aliyev said a 'general agreement' has been reached on the Armenian withdrawal, which will take place step-by-step over a period of several years.

(Quelle: RFE / RL) Two candidates have announced their intention to participate in the July 19 presidential elections in the unrecognized republic of Nagorno-Karabakh, and at least one more is expected to do so. Baho Sahakian, who currently heads the republic's National Security Service, and Vanya Ovanesian, a professor at Artsakh State University, reportedly announced their candidacies on April 20, the first day of nominations.

(Quelle: Reliefweb) The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict could be very close to a resolution, and Armenia is committed to working with the peace plan negotiated by the OSCE Minsk Group dealing with the conflict, Armenian Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian told the OSCE Permanent Council today. … He told the Permanent Council, the 56-country Organization's main decision-making body, that the proposal now under consideration was well-balanced.

(Quelle: RFE / RL) Armenian Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian says upcoming talks in Geneva should cause 'a positive shift' toward settling the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, RFE/RL's Armenian Service reported. The foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan are due to meet in Geneva on March 13-14. Speaking at a press conference in Yerevan, Oskanian said the OSCE Minsk Group of international mediators wants the foreign ministers to prepare the ground for a meeting between Armenian President Robert Kocharian and his Azerbaijani counterpart, Ilham Aliyev, in May.

(Quelle: RFE / RL) An international group that aims to bring about a peaceful resolution over the disputed enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh has called on Azerbaijan and Armenia to prepare for compromise. The statement came from the Minsk Group, which was founded by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and is co-chaired by Russia, France, and the United States.

(Quelle: RFE / RL) The foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan met in Moscow today for talks on the disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh. … The Armenian Foreign Ministry said both sides have agreed to pursue negotiations.