Latvia has no intention to interfere with Karabakh peace process: FM says

YEREVAN, November 15. / ARKA /. Latvia does not intend to interfere in the process of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict settlement, Latvian Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkevics said today in Yerevan at a joint news conference with his Armenian counterpart Edward Nalbandian.

"This question is dealt with by the OSCE Minsk Group; there are the Helsinki Principles - territorial integrity and the right of peoples to self-determination, non-use of force or threat of force. Latvia does not intend to interfere in the process," Rinkevics said. 

He also declined to answer a question whether Latvia may recognize the independence of Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, saying now is not the time to talk about it.

"It will not help resolve the difficult situation. Now is the time to focus on negotiations," Rinkevics said.

The conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh broke out in 1988 after the predominantly Armenian-populated enclave declared about secession from Azerbaijan As Azerbaijan declared its independence from the Soviet Union and removed the powers held by the enclave's government, the Armenian majority voted in 1991, December 10, to secede from Azerbaijan and in the process proclaimed the enclave the Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh.

Full-scale fighting, initiated by Azerbaijan, erupted in the late winter of 1992. International mediation by several groups including Europe's OSCE’s failed to bring an end resolution that both sides could work with. In the spring of 1993, Armenian forces captured regions outside the enclave itself. By the end of the war in 1994, the Armenians were in full control of most of the enclave and also held and currently control seven regions beyond the administrative borders of Nagorno-Karabakh.

Almost 1 million people on both sides have been displaced as a result of the conflict. A Russian- -brokered ceasefire was signed in May 1994 and peace talks, mediated by the OSCE Minsk Group, have been held ever since by Armenia and Azerbaijan. -0-