BAKU, Oct 26 (Reuters) - Armenia and Azerbaijan may sign a framework agreement over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh territory by February or March, the U.S. deputy assistant secretary for European and Eurasian affairs, Matthew Bryza, said on Friday. The predominantly Armenian populated Enclave of Nargorno-Karabakh broke away from Azerbaijan in the late 1980s, triggering a 1992-94 war between Armenian-backed separatists and the Azeri army in which more than 35,000 people were killed. Borders between Azerbaijan and Armenia are still closed and official ties have been severed although the countries' two leaders do meet from time to time on foreign soil. "I think that before the (Armenian) elections we could have a framework agreement," Bryza told the Azeri ANS television station. Bryza is a member of an international group under the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) which is pushing for a resolution to the conflict. Since 1994 a separatist army, backed by Armenian volunteers, has controlled Nagorno-Karabakh whose 140,000 inhabitants have voted twice in unrecognised referendums for independence. Armenia is still to decide when to hold its presidential election, expected in either February or March.
