The leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan agreed Sunday to intensify talks to end a 20-year conflict over the disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh, AP reported. The pledge was made during discussions outside Moscow hosted by Russia's president that lasted less than three hours, according to a joint statement. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev proposed the talks last month and they appear to reflect a renewed Kremlin effort to strengthen its influence in the energy-rich Caspian region. Presidents Serge Sarkisian of Armenia and Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan agreed to instruct their foreign ministers «to speed up further moves in the negotiating process,» the declaration said. The foreign ministers will work with Russia, the U.S. and France, co-chairmen of the so-called Minsk Group of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, which has tried unsuccessfully to negotiate a diplomatic solution to the conflict. The U.S. also has promised recently to intensify its efforts to help solve the conflict.
