Armenia's defense minister says neighboring Azerbaijan is not serious about negotiating a settlement of the dispute over the Nagorno-Karabakh territory.
In an interview with Reuters news agency published Tuesday, minister Serzh Sarksyan said he is not very optimistic about the Nagorno-Karabakh issue. He accused Azeri President Ilham Aliyev of trying to put pressure on Armenia through the United Nations.
Mr. Sarksyan said the issue can only be solved through compromise. He said he sees no signs that point to a resumption of armed conflict between the two countries.
Russia, the United States and France, among others, are trying to mediate an agreement between Azerbaijan and Armenia over Nagorno-Karabakh. Ethnic Armenians from the mountainous enclave control 20 percent of Azerbaijan's territory seized during a war that ended with a cease-fire agreement a decade ago.
Some information for this story provided by Reuters.
