Draft Karabakh Peace Plan Reported Under Discussion In Baku

Baku, Erevan March 14 (RFE/RL) - In Baku, top Russian envoys are reported to be discussing a draft peace plan for the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Russia's First Deputy Foreign Minister Boris Pastukhov and Special Presidential Envoy Vladimir Kazimirov also held talks today in Erevan, as they continue shuttling among Baku, Stepanakert and Erevan.

An RFE/RL correspondent in Baku reports the envoys today consulted Azerbaijan's President Gaidar Aliyev, and are expected to continue discussions of the draft plan tomorrow with other top officials in Baku. no details of the plan were released, but reports have said discussions have focused on granting Karabakh greater autonomy, and on security guarantees for Karabakh's ethnic Armenians.

The RFE/RL correspondent says it is clear the efforts of the Russian envoys and American envoys are coordinated.

U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Strobe Talbott held talks today in Erevan, following talks in Baku. Talbott has now traveled to Turkey.

A ceasefire in the Karabakh conflict has been generally honored since it came into effect in may, 1994. but international negotiators have pursued a permanent cessation of hostilities as a top priority.