Mediators reported progress on the Nagorny Karabakh settlement as Azerbaijani and Armenian presidents Ilham Aliyev and Serzh Sargsyan exchanged opinions on the issue at a meeting in Munich on Sunday.

Nagorny Karabakh, a region in Azerbaijan with a largely Armenian population, has been a source of conflict between the former Soviet republics since the late 1980s. The mountainous province has its own government and is de facto independent.

French mediator Bernard Fassier said Sunday "some important progress" was reached but outlined certain "difficulties."

The presidents met for the sixth time since the start of the year. Their previous meeting took place on October 8, during the CIS summit in Chisinau.

The war between Azerbaijan and Armenia over the mountainous enclave in 1988-1994 left an estimated 35,000 people dead. Sporadic violence on the border has continued ever since.

The Madrid principles on the Karabakh settlement, put forward in November 2007, stipulate that the occupied Armenian territories surrounding Nagorny Karabakh should be brought back under Azerbaijan's control. They also envision a future referendum of self-determination in Karabakh.

The conflict is mediated by the Minsk Group of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, comprising the U.S., Russia and France.

BAKU, November 22 (RIA Novosti)