A TINY Scots village is to be the unlikely setting for important talks between three former Soviet republics.

High ranking delegates from Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan will spend three days in Craigellachie in Speyside.

The event is being arranged by Angus Robertson, Moray SNP MP and chairman of the House of Commons south Caucasus region all-party group.

At the start of the 1990s, oil-rich Azerbaijan was involved in a war with Armenia over the enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh. The area, in Azerbaijan, was taken forcefully by the largely Armenian population.

Attempts at a peace settlement have failed, and sporadic clashes occur between the enclave's soldiers and Azerbaijani government forces. More than 30,000 people were killed and a million driven from their homes during the conflict. In Armenia, around 50% of the population live below the poverty line and political killings are rife.

The talks in Speyside, which will take place in the Craigellachie Hotel, are likely to centre on the dispute and it is thought oil and economics will also be on the agenda.

Georgia is one of the poorest of the former Soviet republics and was plunged into turmoil last month after Eduard Shevardnadze, the former president, was accused of rigging votes. He eventually resigned from office without the predicted bloodshed. Elections to find a new leader will take place in the new year.

Mr Robertson, who was named as Scotland's hardest working MP in official figures earlier this week, said: ''Craigellachie may seem like a strange place to hold peace talks, but the politicians will feel at ease here and can relax and talk about things they avoid at home.

''We are thrilled to be able to host this event. The fact that Craigellachie could be the location where historic decisions are made is exciting.''

The talks are being sponsored by Links, an organisation funded by European governments for conflict resolution and state building.

Mr Roberston said: ''These are emerging democracies and they have a number of issues in common.''

Politicians will arrive in the village on Wednesday, and stay for three days.

During the visit they will be treated to traditional Highland hospitality and sample local delicacies.

The three former republics are far removed from quiet Craigellachie, where the most exciting event is the weekly line dancing session.

Brenda Cooper, secretary of the village council, said: ''This could really put us on the international map - but I doubt if the UN will be coming here any time soon.

''We have never had anything like this in the village before. I think the most important person who's ever visited was Annie Lennox.''

A spokeswoman for the Craigellachie Hotel said: ''Nothing exciting ever happens here, so this is a turn-up for the books.

''I know they are used to drinking vodka, but we will make sure they have a few drams of whisky before they get down to more serious business. The people here are thrilled by the prospect of welcoming all these important politicians and we will make sure we show them a taste of Scotland.''

Cameron Ross, a lecturer in Russian regional politics at Dundee University, said that, with a new oil pipeline coming through Georgia from the Middle East, oil would likely be one of the major areas of discussion.

''Georgia has suffered terribly and has internal problems over the Abkhzia enclave which wants independence. It maybe they will be discussing some form of economic grouping between each other,'' he said. Georgia, which has a population of five million, is at the crossroads where Europe meets Asia. Crime is rife in the area, which shares a border with the Chechen republic.

Armenia, with its population of 3.1 million, is a landlocked republic near Turkey. It suffers from extreme poverty and is struggling to cope with a trade blockade imposed by Turkey and Azerbaijan.

The United States and Britain have strongly supported a new pipeline route from Azerbaijan through Georgia and to Turkey's Mediterranean port of Ceyhan to lower dependence on Midddle East oil and Russian pipelines. The (pounds) 2bn pipeline is scheduled to start pumping oil in early 2005.

Azerbaijan, which has a population of 7.7 million, is in the south Caucasus and is struggling to build a democracy.

War broke out when the region separated from the USSR in 1991 and Armenian troops tried to take control of Nagorno Karabakh. A ceasefire was signed in 1994, but around a seventh of Armenia is still occupied. Political stability in Azerbaijan, which underwent a number of coups in the early 1990s, is important to global oil giants such as BP, which have invested heavily in the country. The US sees Azerbaijan as a potential alternative source of oil.

Haydar Aliyev, Azerbaijan's longtime president and Communist party leader during the Soviet era, died yesterday aged of 80 in Ohio.

He was elected president in 1993 and 1998 and remained popular at home despite international criticism of his government's crackdown on dissent and free media. He had been receiving treatment at the Cleveland Clinic since August for congestive heart failure and kidney problems.

A former KGB leader, Aliyev had dominated politics in his country since the late 1960s.

In October he said he would not seek re-election and his son Ilham succeeded him. In withdrawing from the election, Haydar said he was ''convinced I will recover soon and come back to my home country'' and urged his fellow citizens to support his son, then the country's prime minister.

Vital statistics

Azerbaijan Most of the country's 7.7m people are ethnic Azeris, mainly Muslim.

Azerbaijan commands the largest chunk of the Caspian oil and gas province, considered the world's third largest.

The US and Britain strongly support a new pipeline from Azerbaijan through Georgia to Turkey's Mediterranean coast to shorten transport time and reduce dependence on Middle East oil and Russian pipelines.

Georgia Georgia, which has a population of 5m, is at the crossroads where Europe meets Asia.

Crime is rife in the country, which shares a border with Chechnya.

Perhaps the most famous Georgian was Stalin.

Georgia gained independence from the USSR in 1991. Independence was followed by civil war and conflict in Abkhazia and South Ossetia (now Tskhinvali).

Armenia Armenia, with its population of 3.1m, is landlocked, the smallest of the former Soviet republics

It is extremely poor and is struggling to cope with a blockade imposed by Turkey and Azerbaijan.

25,000 people were killed by an earthquake in northern Armenia in 1988.

More than 90% of the population belongs to the Armenian Orthodox church.

The republic gained independence in 1991.