Day.Az, Azerbaijan
Dec 7 2007

ARMENIA TO PULL OUT TROOPS FROM SEVEN DISTRICTS – AZERI SPOKESMAN

Azerbaijan is not bargaining about territories, Armenian troops
should be withdrawn from all the occupied territories and Azerbaijani
refugees and displaced persons should return to their homes,
Novosti-Azerbaijan has quoted Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry spokesman
Xazar Ibrahim as saying. "Then the issue of defining a status of
Nagornyy Karabakh within Azerbaijan will be solved," Ibrahim said.

He said that proposals that had been officially submitted to the
foreign ministers of Azerbaijan and Armenia by the OSCE Minsk Group
co-chairmen in Madrid "do not contain special novelties, there are
some nuances. But in general, the main principles are similar to
those discussed within the Prague process".

"The negotiating process is at a stage when the majority of the main
principles have been agreed. Actually only one main principle has not
been agreed," Ibrahim said.

As to the Armenia troops’ withdrawal, Ibrahim supposed that might be
a stage-by-stage process.

"As that is a stage-by-stage process, probably the occupied
Azerbaijani districts will be liberated step-by-step. I mean that due
to the existence of a number of technical nuances, the Armenian
troops probably will not withdraw from all the seven districts at
once. Particularly, the territories must be cleared of mines.
One-time withdrawal of troops without simultaneous measures being
carried out may cause certain problems," he said.

"However, the basis is that the troops will be withdrawn from all the
seven districts and the process will be carried out according to a
precise schedule." Ibrahim said.