ARMENIAN, AZERBAIJANI PRESIDENTS HOLD TALKS.

Presidents Levon Ter-Petrosian of Armenia and Haidar Aliev of Azerbaijan met privately to discuss the Karabakh conflict during the Black Sea Economic Cooperation summit, held on April 28-29 in Istanbul. They failed to make progress, as Aliev insisted on Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity while Ter-Petrosian ruled out concessions beyond those already made. Turkish president Suleyman Demirel arranged the meeting and offered to mediate further talks between Yerevan and Baku. Direct talks are currently frozen. (Noyan-Tapan, Turan, Western agencies, April 28-29)

Azerbaijan Sentences Talysh Secessionist Leader.