Tert.am -- RA President Serzh Sargsyan sent a formal letter to his Turkish counterpart, Abdullah Gül. The letter reads as follows:

“Your Excellency,

“Travelling over Turkey’s air territory, I am sending my greetings to you and people of neighbouring Turkey.

“Our initiative to normalize Armenian-Turkish relations is at the centre of the international community’s attention. This period is, in fact, a historical one, and not only we, but also the whole world understands that. The efforts made by regional powers for the improvement of bilateral relations go beyond any appreciation. I am sure that it would be hard to see progress without their intervention.

RFE/RL -- Armenia and Azerbaijan are narrowing their differences over a resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict sought by international mediators, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said over the weekend.

“We are trying to help Armenians and Azerbaijanis to reach a common approach,” the DPA news agency quoted him as saying at the Munich Security Conference. “It's obviously a very difficult issue, but things are moving.”

“The understanding is growing and the number of issues that must be tackled by the top leaders is reducing and we are trying to help,” Lavrov said.

Russia, which co-chairs the OSCE Minsk Group with the United States and France, has stepped up its involvement in the Karabakh negotiating process of late, with President Dmitry Medvedev hosting this year’s first meeting of his Armenian and Azerbaijani counterparts near the Russian city of Sochi late last month.

RFE/RL -- Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu denounced a U.S. congressional committee over the weekend for scheduling a vote on an Armenian genocide resolution, saying that its passage would seriously harm Turkey’s relations with both the United States and Armenia.

Davutoglu reportedly suggested that Washington is using the prospect of the resolution’s passage by the U.S. House of Representatives to force Turkey to ratify its fence-mending agreements with Armenia. He also accused Yerevan of hampering further progress in international efforts to resolve the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

“Why is that draft included on the [committee] agenda now?” he said, according to a “Hurriyet” report cited by the Azerbaijani APA news agency on Monday. “Let them not expect from us the ratification of protocols by using April 24 as a tool for pressure.

Al Jazeera -- The long-running dispute between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the mountainous enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh - has particular significance for the historic town of Shusha - which has been seen as a cultural capital for both countries. 

In the 1990's, Armenia won the war with Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh, causing many Azeris to flee.

And now, Armenia wants the disputed town of Shusha to become a centre exclusively for Armenian culture.

The region's capital of Stepanakert has been rebuilt - but because of the unresolved conflict - Shusha remains isolated and poor.

From Nagorno Karabakh, Al Jazeera's Matthew Collin reports on how Shusha typifies the region's struggle to be recognised as truly independent.