Merkel offers Germany's mediation in Karabakh process

PanARMENIAN.Net - German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Saturday, August 25 that Berlin could help mediate between Azerbaijan and neighboring Armenia to resolve a long-running territorial dispute over Nagorno Karabakh, Deutsche Welle reports.

Germany is a member of the Minsk group, which for years has been attempting to negotiate peace under the leadership of the US, Russia and France.

"Germany wants to help find peaceful solutions," the chancellor told journalists in the Azerbaijani capital, Baku, adding that the conflict was a major burden on the region.

Merkel met Azerbaijan's president, Ilham Aliyev, and the pair discussed the domestic human rights situation, the possibility of expanding energy markets to avoid dependency on Russian gas, and efforts to end the Karabakh conflict.

Azerbaijan is Merkel's final stop on a three-day tour that has already taken her to Georgia and Armenia. Merkel was expected to return to Berlin later Saturday.