Interfax, Russia
May 7 2009

AZERBAIJANI, ARMENIAN LEADERS START NEW ROUND OF KARABAKH TALKS

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian President Serzh
Sargsyan met in Prague on Thursday, a source at the Azerbaijani
presidential administration told Interfax.

The meeting attended by the two foreign ministers and the OSCE Minsk
Group cochairmen is focused on the Karabakh settlement.

The Karabakh legal status is the main stumbling block of the
negotiations. Baku insists on resolving the problem with the
preservation of its territorial integrity, and the international
community supports this position. Meanwhile, Yerevan thinks that the
solution should be based on another international principle, the right
of nations to self-determination.

In the opinion of Azerbaijan, the discussion of the Karabakh status
can start only after the return of Azerbaijani refugees to the
territory.

If that does not happen and Azerbaijanis do not return to Karabakh,
the status will not be discussed and there will be no negotiations on
the Karabakh normalization, Azerbaijani Deputy Foreign Minister Araz
Azimov said prior to the Prague meeting.

The discussion of settlement fundamentals suggested by the OSCE Minsk
Group cochairmen goes on, he said.

There are still some open questions and some agreements have not been
reached, so nothing is confirmed until we coordinate the details.

Our work will continue on this principle, Azimov said.

The Azerbaijani lands occupied by Armenia must be freed, that’s final,
he noted.

Karabakh will remain a part of Azerbaijan, and a way of co- existence
of the two communities will be elaborated. We think this is the core
of the process, but this goal can be achieved in several steps, the
deputy minister said.