What’s at stake for Nagorno-Karabakh as both sides in the decades-old conflict agree to hold talks

By JIM HEINTZ
Associated Press

TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — The news of a cease-fire in Nagorno-Karabakh, a day after Azerbaijan shelled Armenian forces, toned down fears of a third full-scale war over the region, But it also left significant unresolved questions. Under the agreement mediated by Russian peacekeeping forces, the separatist authorities of the region made sizeable concessions — disbanding the region’s defense forces and withdrawing Armenia’s military contingents. But the question of Nagorno-Karabakh’s final status remains open and will be at the center of talks beginning Thursday. Emotions and ethnic pride are intense on both sides, with little sign of compromise in the previous three decades of conflict that killed tens of thousands of soldiers and displaced hundreds of thousands of civilians.