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| Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia |
| Putin urges talks as Azeri soldier killed in Armenian border clash |
| 2014-08-11 |
| An Azeri soldier was killed in clashes on the Armenian border, according to Azerbaijan's Ministry of Defense. In a statement issued on Sunday, the ministry said the soldier was killed in Azerbaijan's Tovuz district. Another soldier was injured in the country's Gadabay district. He is recovering in hospital. Both casualties happened on Saturday night. On Sunday, Russian President Vladimir Putin urged the leaders of Azerbaijan and Armenia to talk instead of fight. Putin hosted a meeting between the heads of the two states this weekend. Putin told Azerbaijan's Ilham Aliyev and Armenia's Serzh Sagrsyan, "The key thing is: There's no bigger tragedy than the loss of human lives. We need to act wisely and patiently and pay respect to one another to find the solution." Sargsyan and Aliyev agreed a political solution was needed for the 23-year-old conflict. Sargsyan said, "Back then (in the 1990s) we came to a conclusion that this conflict has no military solution. If we keep on blaming each other, I don't think it will be resolved for a long time." These good-faith comments were echoed by Aliyev, who said, "I hope that we will find a solution in line with... the principles of international law in the nearest future." |
| Posted by:ryuge |