Russian President Hosts Summit Talks On Nagorno-Karabakh

Armenian President Serzh Sarkisian (left) to with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev at previous trilateral negotiations with Azerbaijan's Ilham Aliyev in Sochi in January.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev hosts the presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan today for talks on the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh.

Medvedev will meet Armenian President Serzh Sarkisian and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in the southern Russian city of Astrakhan.

On the eve of the talks, Armenia accused Azerbaijani forces of killing an ethnic Armenian soldier in Nagorno-Karabakh in a bid to disrupt peace talks.

In a statement, the Armenian Defense Ministry said a soldier with Karabakh's defense forces was killed on October 26 after Azerbaijani forces opened fire along a cease-fire line.

The ministry condemned the shooting as "another step by Azerbaijan aimed at destabilizing the situation before the meeting of the presidents of Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Russia."

compiled from agency reports