Russia is expecting progress in talks between Armenia and Azerbaijan on the Nagorny Karabakh issue, the head of the Russian president's administration said on Saturday, ahead of a meeting of Russian, Armenian and Azerbaijani presidents in Russia's Black Sea resort city of Sochi.
The issue of Nagorny Karabakh, a breakaway region inside Azerbaijan with a predominantly ethnic Armenian population, has been a sticking point in relations between the two former Soviet states.
The conflict first erupted in 1988, when the region claimed independence from Azerbaijan to join Armenia. Over 30,000 people are estimated to have died on both sides between 1988 and 1994, when a ceasefire was agreed. Nagorny Karabakh has remained in Armenian control since then.
Both Caucasus states continuing the exchange of allegations of ceasefire violations over the disputed region, and Azerbaijan threatening to use force if talks yield no results.
Russia, along with France and the United States, is a member of the OSCE Minsk Group, which mediates the conflict.
"I want to say that Aliyev highly appreciates Russia's role in this process, and we expect progress [in talks would be reached] to resolve the problem, including at the upcoming meeting in Sochi," Sergei Naryshkin, who is paying a working visit to the Azerbaijani capital, Baku, said after talks with the country's president, Ilham Aliyev.
Dmitry Medvedev, Serzh Sargsyan and Ilham Aliyev will meet in Sochi on January 25.
The Minsk Group reported some important progress in talks between the Azerbaijani and Armenian leaders in Munich late last year, but tensions between the two ex-Soviet republics remain high.
The Nagorny Karabakh issue is an obstacle to opening borders and reestablishing diplomatic relations between Armenia and Turkey, which supports Azerbaijan's position. Last October, the two states signed a reconciliation agreement, however, the accords are still to be ratified by the two countries' parliaments.
BAKU, January 23 (RIA Novosti)
