SIDES PROMISED TO CARRY OUT CONFIDENCE-BUILDING MEASURES
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[02:56 pm] 03 November, 2008
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.
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 held substantive discussions in a constructive spirit on the
state and prospects for political settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict through a continuation of direct dialogue between Azerbaijan
and Armenia through the mediation of Russia, the USA and France as
co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group,
1. Declare that they will facilitate improvement of the situation
in the South Caucasus and establish stability and security in the
region through political settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict
based on the principles of international law and the decisions and
documents approved within this framework, thus creating favourable
conditions for economic growth and all-round cooperation in the region.
2. Affirm the importance of having the co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk
Group continue their mediation efforts, including based on the outcome
of the meeting between the parties in Madrid on November 29, 2007,
and subsequent discussions on further steps to agree on the basic
principles for political settlement.
3. Agree that peace settlement should be accompanied by legally binding
guarantees for every aspect and stage of the settlement process.
4. Note that the Presidents of Azerbaijan and Armenia have agreed
to continue work, including through further contacts at the highest
level, on reaching a political settlement to the conflict and have
instructed the heads of their respective foreign ministries to work
together with the co-chairmen of the OSCE Minsk Group to activate
the negotiation process.
5. Consider it important to encourage the establishment of conditions
for carrying out confidence-building measures in the context of work
on a peace settlement.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
