Armenian, Azerbaijani foreign ministers to discuss land claims

The foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan will meet Monday for talks on resolving the Nagorno-Karabakh territorial dispute.

Ethnic Armenian forces seized the mountainous enclave during a war in the 1990s that killed thousands and displaced millions. A tense cease-fire has held since 1994 and efforts to finally resolve its status have repeatedly failed.

The two foreign ministers were expected to lay the groundwork for a meeting of the countries' two presidents later this week, Interfax news agency reported.

The return of refugees, withdrawal from some territories and introducing peacekeeping forces are among the issues being discussed.

Presidents Ilham Aliev of Azerbaijan and Robert Kocharian of Armenia were slated to meet on Friday in Kazan on the sidelines of a meeting of leaders from several former Soviet republics, the AP reported.