ARMENIA AND AZERBAIJAN: NEGOTIATORS UPDATE KARABAKH TALKS FRAMEWORK

EurasiaNet
July 28 2009
NY

International mediators for the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict have penned
a new draft document that will provide a framework for the next phase
of talks between Azerbaijan and Armenia, regional media reported on
July 28. Details of the document remain under wraps, but it builds on
a white paper produced in 2007 in Spain by the US, France and Russia.

The original document, known as the Madrid Principles, stipulates
that Armenian forces must withdraw from seven Azerbaijani districts
adjacent to Karabakh. A referendum on the territory’s status would
also be held in the region, which is primarily inhabited by ethnic
Armenians. Yerevan and Baku have long argued about which of the
above moves should come first. [For background see the Eurasia
Insight archive].

The Armenian opposition has bitterly opposed the Madrid Principles,
claiming that such a deal may pave the way for Azerbaijan to regain
control of the territory. Representatives of the three mediating
countries did not specify if these two principles have been modified
in the new document.