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German chancellor offers assistance in settling Karabakh conflict

Angela Merkel also said that Azerbaijan and Germany could expand their economic ties

BAKU. August 25. /TASS/. Germany would like to offer support in settling the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said at a meeting with Azerbaijan’s President Ilkham Aliyev in Baku on Saturday.

The details of the talk are posted on the website of the Azerbaijani president.

"We are talking about the issue, which hinders this region very much. This is the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and we, on the part of Germany, would like to render support in resolving it," Merkel said.

The German chancellor also said that Azerbaijan and Germany could expand their economic ties.

"We can expand ties in the economic sphere and Azerbaijan is Germany’s largest trade partner in this region," Merkel stressed.

The conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia over Nagorno-Karabakh broke out in February 1988, when the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region declared departure from the Azerbaijani Soviet Socialist Republic. During the armed conflict of 1992-1993 Azerbaijan lost control over Nagorno-Karabakh region as well as and seven neighboring regions.

Talks on the Nagorno-Karabakh settlement have been going on since 1992. Russia, the US and France are co-chairs of the Minsk Group of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) that acts as a mediator in resolving the crisis.

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