EU SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE SAYS NAGORNO-KARABAKH NEGOTIATIONS MUST BASE ON BASIC PRINCIPLES

Trend News Agency
July 31 2008
Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan, Baku, 31 July /Trend News corr. R.Novruzov/ EU Special
Representative say it would be expedient to continue the negotiations
on Nagorno-Karabakh conflict on the basis of basic principles. EU
Special Representative for South Caucasus Peter Semneby discussed in
Baku on 31 July with Azerbaijan’s Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov
the ways to settle Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

"We discussed the upcoming meeting of Azerbaijani and Armenian
Foreign Ministers to take place in Moscow on 1 August and agreed
that the negotiations must base on basic principles," Semneby said
to journalists after the meeting.

The conflict between the two countries of the South Caucasus began
in 1988 due to Armenian territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Since
1992, Armenian Armed Forces have occupied 20% of Azerbaijan including
the Nagorno-Karabakh region and its seven surrounding districts. In
1994, Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement at which
time the active hostilities ended. The Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk
Group (Russia, France, and the US) are currently holding peaceful
negotiations.

The work over settlement of Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, suggested
by both countries’ presidents in St. Petersburg in June, will be
the basis for negotiations between Azerbaijani and Armenian foreign
ministers in Moscow at the beginning of August.

Negotiations on peace settlement of Nagorno-Karabakh conflict will
be based on Madrid proposals, French co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group
Bernard Fassier said to Trend News previously.

In November, 2007, OSCE Minsk Group’s co-chairs presented in Madrid
the basic principles of peace settlement of Nagorno-Karabakh conflict
to Armenian and Azerbaijani presidents. Co-chairs believe the Madrid
proposals are just and balanced.