Azerbaijan, Armenia To Meet In Paris On Nagorno-Karabakh
Armenian President Kocharian said he is optimistic about the talks (file photo) (ITAR-TASS)
Armenian officials said the meeting will take place on 10 February and comes at the invitation of French President Jacques Chirac.
A spokesman for Armenian President Robert Kocharian was quoted today as saying he was optimistic about the talks.
Armenia and Azerbaijan remain in a tense military standoff over the territory and have held years of fruitless multi-party negotiations aimed at resolving the dispute.
(AFP)
Click on the map to see an enlarged map of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict area.
In February 1988, the local assembly in Stepanakert, the local capital of the Azerbaijani region of
NAGORNO-KARABAKH, passed a resolution calling for unification of the predominantly ethnic-Armenian region with Armenia. There were reports of violence against local Azeris, followed by attacks against Armenians in the Azerbaijani city of Sumgait. In 1991-92, Azerbaijani forces occupied most of Nagorno-Karabakh, but the Armenians counterattacked and by 1993-94 had seized almost all of the region, as well as vast areas around it. About 600,000 Azeris were displaced and as many as 25,000 people were killed before a Russian-brokered cease-fire was imposed in May 1994.
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Of particular interest:
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Nagorno-Karabakh President Expresses Optimism
Nagorno-Karabakh: OSCE To Unveil New Peace Plan