AZERBAIJAN WILLING TO GRANT KARABAKH POLITICAL AUTONOMY.

Azerbaijan’s president Heydar Aliyev announced December 3 in Paris that his country is prepared to grant Karabakh a special autonomous political status, in return for Armenian recognition of Azerbaijan’s sovereignty over the region and for the return of Lachin corridor to Azerbaijani control. (20)

Until now, Baku has mainly held out cultural autonomy for Karabakh, even after losing control over the region. Karabakh had the status of an autonomous region within Soviet Azerbaijan before the present war. Azerbaijan’s demand for Lachin risks blocking any progress, as both Armenia and Karabakh deem it vital to preserve their contiguity.

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