Nagorno-Karabakh has functioning government and advancing economy: ICG

YEREVAN, January 16. /ARKA/. Nagorno-Karabakh has a functioning government and advancing economy, said Sabina Fraser, Director of European Programs from the International Crisis Group (ICG), in an interview with http://bs-kavkaz.org when asked about the prospects for the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh problem.

According to her, the best option to resolve the conflict is the one proposed by the OSCE Minsk Group that calls for giving Nagorno-Karabakh an interim status and security guarantees.

"For many years Nagorno-Karabakh has lived in isolation from the outside world, the only link is with Armenia. Nagorno-Karabakh has a functioning government and a growing economy, so the interim status will enable it to communicate with the outside world and attract investment," she said .

She said she fully trusts the Madrid principles, which "indicate the best way to progress." 

"I really want to believe in what they the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs say. The parties are close to an agreement that serves as an incentive for all those involved in the Karabakh conflict - in the first place for the Armenians and Azerbaijanis. Using these principles is the best way to get Nagorno-Karabakh out of this situation," she said.

Nagorno-Karabakh, populated overwhelmingly by ethnic Armenians, broke away from Azerbaijan following a three-year war that left some 30,000 dead. 

A Russia-brokered ceasefire ended the hostilities in 1994, but peace has remained fragile since then. The current Minsk Group-mediated negotiations between Armenia and Azerbaijan have not brought a peace agreement yet. -0-