RUSSIA PUBLISHES ARMENIAN-AZERBAIJANI CONFLICT SETTLEMENT GROUP STATEMENT

Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Dec 2 2009
Russia

Text of "Joint Statement by the Heads of Delegation of the Minsk Group
Co-Chair Countries and the Foreign Ministers of Azerbaijan and Armenia,
Athens, Greece, 1 December" in English by Russian Ministry of Foreign
Affairs website on 2 December

The Heads of Delegation of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chair countries,
Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation Sergey Lavrov, Foreign
Minister of France Bernard Kouchner, Enhanced Coverage LinkingBernard
Kouchner, -Search using: Biographies Plus News News, Most Recent 60
Days and Deputy Secretary of State of the United States James Steinberg
met in Athens on 1 December with the Foreign Minister of Azerbaijan
Elmar Mammadyarov and Foreign Minister of Armenia Edvard Nalbandyan.

The five Heads of Delegation recalled the commitments in the November
2008 Moscow Declaration and the December 2008 Helsinki OSCE Ministerial
Statement, They noted the positive dynamic in the talks, demonstrated
through six meetings this year between the Presidents of Armenia and
Azerbaijan. They agreed that the increasing frequency of these meetings
has significantly contributed to an enhanced dialogue between the
parties and forward movement towards finalizing the Basic Principles
for the Peaceful Settlement of the Nagornyy Karabakh conflict,
proposed in Madrid on 29 November 2007.

Foreign Ministers Lavrov and Kouchner and Deputy Secretary Steinberg
reiterated the commitment of their countries, as expressed in the Joint
Statement on the Nagornyy Karabakh conflict at the L’Aquila Summit of
the Eight on July 10 issued by their three Presidents, to support the
leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan as they complete work on the Basic
Principles and urged that the parties complete this work as soon as
possible. They stressed that agreement on the Basic Principles would
provide the framework for a comprehensive settlement to promote a
future of peace, stability, and prosperity for the entire region.

The Foreign Ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan reported on progress
during the course of this year in achieving common understandings on
points of the Basic Principles. They stated the willingness of their
countries to complete work on the Basic Principles, as stipulated by
the Presidents of the Co-Chair countries at L’Aquila. The Ministers
reaffirmed their commitment to work intensively to resolve the
remaining issues, to reach an agreement based, in particular, upon
the principles of the Helsinki Final Act of Non-Use of Force or
Threat of Force, Territorial Integrity, and the Equal Rights and
Self-Determination of Peoples.