FIVE-SIDED STATEMENT ON PROGRESS IN NAGORNO KARABAKH SETTLEMENT PROCESS ADOPTED

Noyan Tapan
Dec 2, 2009

ATHENS, DECEMBER 2, NOYAN TAPAN. On the first day of the OSCE
Ministerial Council’s 17th session that started on December 1 in Athens
a meeting took place between OSCE Minsk Group co-chairing countries’
Foreign Ministers, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, French
Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State
James Steinberg, RA and Azeri Foreign Ministers Edward Nalbandian
and Elmar Mammadiarov.

A statement was adopted at the five-sided meeting, which read:

"The heads of the Minsk Group co-chairing countries’ delegations,
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, French Foreign Minister Bernard
Kouchner, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State James Steinberg met with RA
Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian and Azeri Foreign Minister Elmar
Mammadiarov on December 1 in Athens.

The five heads of the delegations referred to the commitments
stipulated by the Declaration adopted in 2008 November in Moscow and
by the OSCE Helsinki Ministerial Statement adopted in 2008 December.

They mentioned the positive dynamics of the negotiations recorded
during the six meetings between the RA and Azeri Presidents held
this year. They agreed that the growing frequency of these meetings
has considerably contributed to expansion of the dialogue between the
sides and their moving to a final coordination of the basic principles
of Nagorno Karabakh peaceful settlement proposed on November 29 2007
in Madrid.

Foreign Ministers Lavrov and Kouchner and Deputy Secretary of State
Steinberg reaffirmed their countries’ commitment to assist the heads of
Armenia and Azerbaijan in the issue of completion of the coordination
of Basic Principles and called the sides for finishing that work as
quickly as possible according to the joint statement on the Nagorno
Karabakh conflict adopted by the three Presidents at the G8 Summit
on July 10 at L’Aquila. They emphasized that an agreement on Basic
Principles will be a framework basis for an all-embracing settlement,
which will contribute to building a future based on peace, stability,
and prosperity in the whole region.

The Foreign Ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan mentioned that a
progress has been recorded this year in the issue of reaching a
general understanding over the provisions of the Basic Principles.

They confirmed their countries’ readiness to finish working at the
Basic Principles as the co-chairing countries’ Presidents called them
in L’Aquila. The Ministers reaffirmed their commitment to work with
diligence to settle the unsolved problems, to reach an agreement,
in particular, on the basis of the principles of non-use of force or
threat of force, territorial integrity, equality of peoples’ rights
and self-determination stipulated by the Helsinki final document."