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U.S. Official Optimistic On Karabakh Deal

May 17, 2006 -- A U.S. State Department official has expressed optimism about the possibility of a peace agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh territory.

Matthew Bryza, the deputy assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian affairs, said at a meeting in Washington on May 16 that the two sides are now closer to an agreement than they have been in the past.

He said, however, that the Armenian and Azerbaijani governments will have to show political courage to reach a final deal. He said Washington views the next couple of months as a "real window of opportunity" to resolve the dispute.

Yerevan and Baku have been formally at war since 1988, when the predominantly ethnic Armenian enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh seceded from Soviet Azerbaijan.

The United States, Russia, and France co-chair the Minsk Group of nations mandated by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe to mediate between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

(AP)

Copyright (c) 2006. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. www.rferl.org