Prospects for a peaceful solution for the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan in Nagorno-Karabakh are still intact following the talks held in Prague by Armenian and Azeri presidents last Wednesday. According to the spokesman for the Minsk Group, Matthew Bryza, the diplomatic meeting has resulted in "great progress". Russia and Turkey, the two major regional powers involved in the conflict, have also stressed on the progress made, while response by Yerevan and Baku have been more cautious.

Even though no details on the substance of the talks have been given, Bryza is quoted in RFE/RL as saying that "you have to have conceptual breakthroughs and then technical breakthroughs. So, conceptually I would say, we pretty much had that today. Now we have to create the technical breakthroughs".

Ankara, which is rebuilding diplomatic ties with Armenia in spite of being a traditional Baku ally, has also welcomed the steps taken. According to Hurriyet, the Turkish minister for foreign affairs expressed his "satisfaction" about the progress achieved, while Turkish president Abdullah Gül has proposed a four-way summit of Turkish, Russian, Azerbaijanian and Armenian leaders to discuss endeavours for peace.

Further information:

• AlertNet: Armenia & Azerbaijan inch ahead in Karabakh talks
• Nationalia: Armenia and Turkey could open borders before next September, Nagorno-Karabakh moves a step closer to peaceful resolution, Nagorno-Karabakh independence on the agenda again and Dossier Peoples and nations today: Nagorno-Karabakh.