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Current situation favorable to settle Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, says Azerbaijani leader

According to Ilham Aliyev, "many factors give grounds" to say that

BAKU, December 13. /TASS/. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said on Thursday he thinks the current situation is favorable for the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

"I think today’s situation is more favorable for the resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict," he said, adding that "many factors give grounds" to say that.

"First of all, they are our growing strength, potential, economic, military and political might, the country’s strengthening international positions," he said and pledged that Baku "will continue its consistent policy in this sphere."

The conflict between neighboring Armenia and Azerbaijan over the highland region of Nagorno-Karabakh, a disputed territory that had been part of Azerbaijan before the Soviet Union break-up but was mainly populated by Armenians, broke out in the late 1980s.

In 1991-1994, the confrontation spilled over into large-scale military action for control over the enclave and some adjacent territories after Azerbaijan lost control of them. Thousands left their homes on both sides in a conflict that killed 30,000. A truce was called between Armenia and the Nagorno-Karabakh republic on one side and Azerbaijan on the other in May 1994.

Talks on the Nagorno-Karabakh settlement have been held since 1992 in the format of the so-called OSCE Minsk Group, comprising along with its three co-chairs - Russia, France and the United States - Belarus, Germany, Italy, Sweden, Finland and Turkey.

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