Karabakh Mediators Meet With Armenian Officials

Diplomats from Russia, France, and the United States -- the co-chairs of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe's Minsk Group -- traveled to Yerevan for talks today after visiting the Azerbaijani capital Baku on 1 February .

Predominantly ethnic Armenian Karabakh seceded from Soviet Azerbaijan in 1988, triggering a six-year war that ended with an uneasy truce. The conflict claimed some 30,000 lives and drove nearly 1 million people out of their homes.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian President Robert Kocharian are scheduled to meet in France on 10-11 February.  

In an address published in state newspapers on 1 February, Aliyev said his country would never compromise on its territory.

(AP)