Munich, Nov 22: Crucial meeting?

NEWS.am
13:42 / 11/22/2009

The next round of talks between Armenian and Azerbaijani Presidents,
Serzh Sargsyan and Ilham Aliyev, has begun at the Consulate of France
in Munich, Germany. The talks are being held through the mediation of
the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs, Robert Bradtke (USA), Yuri Merzlyakov
(Russia) and Bernard Fassier (France).

The Azeri leader made strongly worded statements on the threshold of
the meeting. Specifically, he stated that the Munich meeting must play
a decisive role in the negotiation process. If the meeting fails to
produce any results, `we will abandon any hope for the negotiations,’
Aliyev said, without ruling out a settlement of the conflict by force.
In that case `we have not any other way out. We must be ready for
that,’ Aliyev said. He stressed that Azerbaijan has full right `to
liberate its lands.’

RA Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian earlier stated Azerbaijan had
for a long time refused to negotiate the Madrid principles and even to
accept the existence of the document. Only recently did official Baku
agree to sit down at the negotiating table.

The expert Armen Gevorgyan accounts for Ilham Aliyev’s aggressive
statements by official Baku’s attempts to `break’ the OSCE Minsk
Group, which is acting as mediator, and facilitate Turkey’s more
active involvement in the process.

The sides are conducting negotiations through the OSCE MG’s mediation
to work out and consolidate the fundamental principles of settling the
conflict. They are outlined in a document known as Madrid principles.
In November 2007, the OSCE MG Co-Chairs submitted the fundamental
principles to the Armenian and Azerbaijani leaders. The contents of
the document were kept secret. The document provides for the return of
territories surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh to Azerbaijan, an interim
status of Nagorno-Karabakh, guarantees of security and
self-government, an open corridor to connect Armenia and
Nagorno-Karabakh, determination of a final status of Nagorno-Karabakh
in the future through the expression of a legally binding will, as
well as for the right of all the internally displaced persons to
return to their places of residence, international security guarantees
and peace-keeping operation. The document was revised in Krakow, but
has not yet been submitted to the sides.