Foreign ministers of the Group of Eight industrialized nations on Friday praised talks between estranged neighbors Turkey and Armenia to normalize their relations.
In a statement released after their talks in Trieste, Italy, the
Turkey and Armenia have been holding closed-door talks to restore their diplomatic relations and open their border, closed since 1993. In April, the two countries announced progress in the talks and said a framework agreement on how to normalize relations has been reached. But Azerbaijan, an ethnic and regional ally of Turkey, has protested the rapprochement, saying Turkey should not soften their stance toward Armenia before Armenia ends its occupation of a chunk of Azerbaijani territory. Armenia occupied the Azerbaijani territory during a war over Nagorno-Karabakh.
Following Azerbaijani protests, the government announced progress in talks with Armenia depended on progress in talks to resolve the Nagorno-Karabakh dispute, a separate process overseen by OSCE’s Minsk Group, which consists of Russian, US and French representatives.
The
On Thursday, Russia warned the West against foreign meddling in the Nagorno-Karabakh dispute between Armenia and Azerbaijan. “Russia is against foisting remedies upon the conflict sides from outside,” the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement on the eve of the
The ministry said that the key mediators — Russia, the US and France — are in consensus about the main approaches for a resolution to the
Speculation has run rampant recently that a resolution breakthrough could occur this year, but, as yet, no concrete signs of such a development have emerged.
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