Nagorno-Karabakh President Expresses Optimism

Ghukasian called it a "suitable year" in part because there are no elections scheduled next year "in Karabakh, Armenia, Azerbaijan, [or] Russia."

He also said international mediators seem eager to speed up the process.
 
Ghukasian said Azerbaijan appears more willing to discuss the issue.
 
"Of course, I consider it positive that today Azerbaijan speaks about the status of Karabakh and does not avoid discussions," Ghukasian told RFE/RL. "If you remember, in the past, Azerbaijan spoke only about issues of particular interest to them. Today, one can assume that Azerbaijan is perhaps ready to work in a more constructive manner."
 
Armenian President Robert Kocharian and his Azerbaijani counterpart Ilham Aliyev discussed the conflict in late August following a CIS summit in Kazan.

Nagorno-Karabakh, a mostly ethnic Armenian enclave, broke away from Soviet Azerbaijan in 1988, sparking a war in which some 35,000 people were killed. A cease-fire took effect in 1994.