YEREVAN, March 11 (RIA Novosti) - The right of the breakaway region of Nagorny Karabakh to self-determination is crucial for a peace settlement, the Armenian foreign minister said Saturday.
"Whether Azerbaijan likes this or not, it will have to deal with the problem as it is on the agenda, and in this context, Azerbaijan is coming under considerable pressure," Vardan Oskanyan said.
"If we can reach a compromise solution, I think we could restart the peace process," he said.
Earlier, the Armenian defense minister said that Azerbaijan's attempts to extend the settlement in the conflict surrounding the breakaway region of Nagorny Karabakh beyond the current framework posed a potential threat to Armenia.
"These attempts are accompanied by a disinformation campaign conducted by Azerbaijan's propaganda machine, which Baku uses to score points with international organizations unfamiliar with the conflict," Serge Sargsyan, who is also secretary of the Armenian president's National Security Council, said in his report on the country's security strategy.
The Organization of Security and Cooperation in Europe's Minsk Group was set up in 1992 to facilitate peace talks between Azerbaijan and Armenia. It is co-chaired by Russia, France, and the U.S. and has representation from Turkey, the U.S., several European nations, Armenia, and Azerbaijan.
The conflict between the former Soviet republics of Armenia and Azerbaijan over Nagorny Karabakh, an Azerbaijani region with a largely Armenian population, first erupted in 1988, when the region claimed independence from Azerbaijan to join Armenia.
Over 30,000 people were reported dead on both sides between 1988 and 1994, and over 100 others died after a ceasefire was concluded in 1994, leaving Nagorny Karabakh in Armenian hands, but tensions between Azerbaijan and Armenia have persisted.
