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Armenian speaker denies Karabakh differences forced him out

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YEREVAN, May 12 (RIA Novosti) - The former speaker of the Armenian parliament said Friday he had not quit his post over differences on how to resolve a long-running territorial dispute with Azerbaijan.

Artur Bagdasaryan announced his resignation Friday after his party, Orinats Yerkir (Country of Law), pulled out of the governing coalition late on Thursday, citing pressure from the authorities.

"I have no disagreements with other senior officials on the settlement of the Nagorny Karabakh conflict," he said. "I think negotiations on peaceful resolution and Armenia's position are both fairly constructive."

The conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over Nagorny Karabakh - a province in Azerbaijan with predominantly ethnic Armenian population - first erupted in 1988, when Karabakh claimed independence from Azerbaijan to join Armenia. A ceasefire was concluded in 1994, leaving Nagorny Karabakh in Armenian hands, but tensions between Azerbaijan and Armenia have persisted.

The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, the world's largest regional security organization, conducted monitoring along the disputed border in April after both sides traded allegations of ceasefire violations.

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