U.S. may take lead in Karabakh talks: Al Jazeera
The United States and Turkey may take the lead in the resolution of the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict over Nagorno Karabakh next year, Arab TV channel Al Jazeera reported.
Al Jazeera analysts opined in a special report on South Caucasus issues that the next meeting between Azerbaijani and Armenian Presidents Ilham Aliyev and Serzh Sargsyan will be brokered by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu.
"If this meeting doesn’t take place, Baku will increasingly consider the option of resolving the conflict by force," the analysts said. "It is known that President Ilham Aliyev discussed the issue with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan during his recent visit to Turkey. Therefore, 2012 will be a crucial year for the whole region."
Azerbaijan and Armenia fought a lengthy war in the early 1990s. About 20 percent of Azerbaijani territory, including the Nagorno Karabakh region, has been under the occupation of Armenian armed forces since a fragile ceasefire was signed in 1994. The U.S. co-chairs the OSCE Minsk Group brokering peace talks, along with France and Russia.
As for Turkey’s possible mediation in Karabakh settlement, Al Jazeera’s analysis overlaps with OSCE Secretary General Lamberto Zannier’s recent statement that Turkey "could play an important role" in the decades-long conflict.
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