ASTRAKHAN, Russia (Reuters) - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said Wednesday he hoped Azerbaijan and Armenia could agree on the principles of a long-awaited peace deal for breakaway region Nagorno-Karabakh by early December.
Agreement on the so called “basic principles” for a future peace deal could pave the way for a resolution of the conflict over the region, indicating movement after years of failed diplomacy by Russia, the United States and France.
A complete breakthrough however is considered a long way off as many sensitive issues still surround the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, where fighting erupted two decades ago. The European Union said last month clashes in the region, a major fuel transit route, could escalate after four Azeri soldiers were killed nearby.
Speaking after chairing talks in Russia between Armenian President Serzh Sarksyan and his Azeri counterpart Ilham Aliyev, Medvedev said those principles could be ready by a meeting of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) in Kazakhstan on Dec 1-2.
“We have come a certain way, which gives grounds to hope that if the sides work well over the next month ... then by the time of OSCE summit in Kazakhstan on Dec 1-2 we could reach an agreed variant of common regulation principles,” Medvedev said.
Agreement on the so called “basic principles” for a future peace deal could pave the way for a resolution of the conflict over the region, indicating movement after years of failed diplomacy by Russia, the United States and France.
A complete breakthrough however is considered a long way off as many sensitive issues still surround the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, where fighting erupted two decades ago. The European Union said last month clashes in the region, a major fuel transit route, could escalate after four Azeri soldiers were killed nearby.
Speaking after chairing talks in Russia between Armenian President Serzh Sarksyan and his Azeri counterpart Ilham Aliyev, Medvedev said those principles could be ready by a meeting of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) in Kazakhstan on Dec 1-2.
“We have come a certain way, which gives grounds to hope that if the sides work well over the next month ... then by the time of OSCE summit in Kazakhstan on Dec 1-2 we could reach an agreed variant of common regulation principles,” Medvedev said.