"I think they (the prospects) have improved as all parties are aware that the conflict should be settled and that this conflict requires attention," Matt Bryza,  deputy assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian Affairs, told Today.Az in an interview.

Since 1992, Armenian Armed Forces have occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and its seven surrounding districts, displacing 10 percent of the Azeri population in the series of bloody clashes both between and within the two neighboring countries.

"Yeah, I even hope that it will happen next year," Bryza said when asked about the prospects of the settlement of the long-standing conflict.

Bryza, who is the co-chair of OSCE´s Minsk Group established to mediate between the parties, would travel Yerevan to hold talks with the Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan.

He told Today.Az that the Sargsyan and his Azerbaijani counterpart could meet again early 2009.

Source: Hurriyet.com.tr