ARMENIAN, RUSSIAN, AZERBAIJANI PRESIDENTS SIGN A DECLARATION ON NAGORNO KARABAKH

armradio.am
03.11.2008 10:55

In compliance with a preliminary agreement, on November 2 the President
of the Republic of Armenia, Serzh Sargsyan, and the President of the
Republic of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, had a meeting at the Maindorf
Castle in Moscow.

Settlement of the Karabakh issue was on the agenda.

The President of the Russian Federation, Dmitry Medvedev joined
Sargsyan and Aliyev after the two-hour face-to-face meeting, and the
negotiations continued in a trilateral format.

Following the meeting the Presidents of the three countries signed
a declaration in presence of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs and mass
media representatives.

The declaration calls for a peaceful settlement of the conflict on
the basis of international law and decisions and documents adopted
within this framework to create favorable conditions for economic
development and comprehensive cooperation in the region.

Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan agreed that the peaceful resolution
should be accompanied by judicially biding international guarantees
and stressed the importance of continuation of mediating efforts of
the OSCE Minsk Group.

The Presidents agreed that further discussion is needed for working
out the main principles of settlement.

The full text of the declaration signed by the Presidents of Armenia,
Azerbaijan and Russia is presented below:

"Having met in Moscow on November 2 at the invitation of the Russian
President, and having discussed the current state and perspectives
of the Karabakh issue, the question of solving the conflict through
political means via continuation of direct dialogue between Armenia and
Azerbaijan with the mediation of Russia, France and the United States
as Minsk Group Co-Chair countries, the Presidents of the Republic of
Armenia, the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Russian Federation:

1. Declare that they will facilitate the improvement of the situation
in the South Caucasus and establishment of stability and security in
the region through a political settlement of the conflict based on
the principles and norms of international law and the decisions and
documents adopted in this framework to create favorable conditions
for economic development and comprehensive cooperation in the region.

2. Reinstate the importance of the mediating efforts of the OSCE
Minsk Group Co-Chairs, taking into consideration their meeting with
the parties on November 29, 2007 and the future discussions held for
the purpose of working out the main principles of political settlement.

3. Agree that the peaceful resolution should be accompanied by
judicially biding international guarantees in all aspects and stages
of settlement.

4. Note that the Presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan agreed to
continue the efforts for the political settlement of the conflict
and instructed the Ministers of Foreign affairs to take more active
steps in that direction through cooperation with the OSCE Minsk
Group Co-chairs.

5. Emphasize the importance of creating conditions that will contribute
to the reinforcement of trust within the framework of the efforts
targeted at the settlement of the conflict.