White House Documents and Publications
July 10, 2009

Joint Statement on the Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict

EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT
THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 10, 2009

Joint Statement on the Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict

by U.S. President Obama, Russian President Medvedev, and French
President Sarkozy at the L’Aquila Summit of the Eight, July 10, 2009.

We, the Presidents of the OSCE Minsk Group’s Co-Chair countries
France, the Russian Federation, and the United States of America
affirm our commitment to support the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan
as they finalize the Basic Principles for settlement of the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

We are instructing our mediators to present to the Presidents of
Armenia and Azerbaijan an updated version of the Madrid Document of
November 2007, the Co-Chairs last articulation of the Basic
Principles. We urge the Presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan to
resolve the few differences remaining between them and finalize their
agreement on these Basic Principles, which will outline a
comprehensive settlement.

Fact sheet

The ministers of the US, France, and Russia presented a preliminary
version of the Basic Principles for a settlement to Armenia and
Azerbaijan in November 2007 in Madrid.

The Basic Principles reflect a reasonable compromise based on the
Helsinki Final Act principles of Non-Use of Force, Territorial
Integrity, and the Equal Rights and Self-Determination of Peoples.

The Basic Principles call for inter alia:

–return of the territories surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh to
Azerbaijani control
–an interim status for Nagorno-Karabakh providing guarantees for
security and self-governance,
–a corridor linking Armenia to Nagorno-Karabakh;
–future determination of the final legal status of Nagorno-Karabakh
through a legally binding expression of will;
–the right of all internally displaced persons and refugees to return
to their former places of residence; and

— international security guarantees that would include a peacekeeping
operation.

The endorsement of these Basic Principles by Armenia and Azerbaijan
will allow the drafting of a comprehensive settlement to ensure a
future of peace, stability, and prosperity for Armenia and Azerbaijan
and the broader region.