Robert Kocharian and Heidar Aliev met in Minsk late on 30 November on the sidelines of the CIS summit to discuss the Karabakh conflict, Armenpress and Turan reported. It was their fifth such meeting this year. Aliev termed the talks "constructive," while Kocharian said that agreement was reached "to shift the negotiating process to another format," which, he added, would provide for "more active contacts." He did not elaborate. Kocharian stressed the need to reach a permanent settlement of the conflict before 2003, when presidential elections are due in both Armenia and Azerbaijan. LF
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