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| Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia |
| Azerbaijan warns of war with Armenia |
| 2007-11-28 |
AzerbaijanÂ’s defence minister said Tuesday that the long-standing dispute over the Armenian-controlled territory of Nagorno-Karabakh is almost certain to eventually spark a new war if it remains unresolved.
Safar Abiyev’s remark was a startling worded repetition of warnings from Azerbaijani officials that they have not ruled out the use of force to recapture Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding areas if internationally mediated settlement efforts fail. “As long as Azerbaijani territory is occupied by Armenia, the chance of war is close to 100 percent,” Abiyev said during a meeting in Kazakhstan of defence chiefs from former Soviet republics.
Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding territory that is also part of Azerbaijan have been controlled by Armenian and ethnic Armenian forces since a shaky 1994 cease-fire ended one of the bloodiest conflicts that followed the collapse of the Soviet Union. |
| Posted by:Fred |