U.S. diplomats discuss Karabakh conflict in Armenia and Azerbaijan

U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Steven Sestanovich and the U.S. co-chairman of the OSCE Minsk Group, Carey Cavanaugh, met in Yerevan on 21-22 January with President Robert Kocharian, Prime Minister Aram Sargsian and other senior officials to discuss how to speed up the stalled Karabakh peace process, RFE/RL's Yerevan bureau reported. He said that to that end, the Minsk Group is preparing a new peace proposal, but did not divulge details. Sestanovich told journalists in Yerevan on 22 January that the unresolved Karabakh conflict remains an obstacle to improvement in Armenian-Turkish relations. LF
On 22 January Sestanovich and Cavanaugh flew to Baku for talks with President Heidar Aliev and other senior officials, AP and ITAR-TASS reported. Aliev greeted the news that the Minsk Group is preparing a new peace proposal, and expressed his hope that the conflict will be resolved by the end of this year. LF

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