BAKU, October 26 (RIA Novosti) - The presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan could sign a framework agreement on resolving a dispute over Nagorny Karabakh by spring 2008, a co-chairman of the OSCE Minsk Group said Friday.
The conflict between the two former Soviet republics over Nagorny Karabakh, a region in Azerbaijan with a largely Armenian population, first erupted in 1988 when it declared independence from Azerbaijan to join Armenia.
Co-chairman Matthew Bryza said that both sides could sign a framework agreement before Armenian presidential elections next spring.
Bryza said that during the recent meeting between Armenian President Robert Kocharyan and the chairmen of the OSCE Minsk Group, the Armenian leader said the signing of such an agreement was possible, but stressed that it would be just the start of the negotiating process.
The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Minsk Group was created in 1992 to encourage a peaceful resolution to the conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia over Nagorno-Karabakh. The group is co-chaired by U.S., Russian and French representatives.
Over 30,000 people were killed on both sides between 1988 and 1994, and over 100 died following a 1994 ceasefire. Nagorny Karabakh remained in Armenian hands, but tensions between Azerbaijan and Armenia have persisted.
