EU KARABAKH PROPOSAL

Azerbaijani Deputy Foreign Minister Araz Azimov told journalists on 28 January that Baku "supports" the proposal contained in a recent EU report on the South Caucasus that Armenian forces should be withdrawn from five districts adjacent to the unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh Republic in return for the resumption of rail traffic between Armenia and Azerbaijan, Interfax and Caucasus Press reported on 29 January. On 30 January, zerkalo.az quoted Azerbaijani parliament speaker Murtuz Alesqerov as saying the proposal is "acceptable." On 30 December, Turan quoted Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Vilayat Guliev as saying such an exchange "is not on the agenda."