MEDVEDEV TO MEET ALIYEV, SARGSYAN IN SOCHI OVER KARABAKH CONFLICT

Itar-Tass
Jan 21 2010
Russia

MOSCOW, January 21 (Itar-Tass) – Russian President Dmitry Medvedev
will meet with his counterparts, Ilkham Aliyev of Azerbaijan and Serzh
Sargsyan of Armenia, in Sochi on January 25 to discuss the settlement
of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, the Kremlin press service reported
on Thursday.

The Nagorno-Karabakh settlement is always in the focus of all
meetings between the Russian, Azerbaijani and Armenian presidents. The
conflict between the Transcaucasian republics broke out in 1988 when
the Nagorno-Karabakh autonomy decided to secede from the Azerbaijani
SSR and get incorporated into Armenia. This led to an armed conflict
in the region in 1991-1994.

The talks started on September 23, 1993 and involved Russia,
Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan and Armenia. In March 1992 Moscow initiated
the creation of the OSCE Minsk Group with the participation of 12
countries. The Minsk Group worked out a plan of gradual settlement. At
present, the talks continue within the Minsk Group co-chairmen of
which are Russia, France and the United States.

In 1999 Baku and Yerevan began a direct dialogue. In 2009 the
presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan met nine times.

On November 2, 2008 Medvedev initiated a tripartite meeting of the
presidents of Russia, Azerbaijan and Armenia that resulted in the
Declaration on the principles of the settlement of the conflict. This
is the first document signed by representatives of the three countries
over 15 years.

In the course of the talks the positions of the parties remain
unchanged. Baku insists on the liberation of Azerbaijani territories
and return of refugees. Then it believes it necessary to discuss the
status of Nagorno-Karabakh. Azerbaijan is ready to give a high level
of autonomy for this region as part of the republic.

Armenia insists on determining the political status of Nagorno-Karabakh
and recognising it, and then it is necessary to eliminate the
consequences of military actions.

Russia believes that Armenia and Azerbaijan should reach political
and diplomatic mutual understanding. Moscow reiterated that it was
ready to be guarantor of the settlement of the conflict.

In November 2009, the presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan, Serzh
Sargsyan and Ilkham Aliyev, me in Munich to continue discussing the
settlement of the conflict in the mostly Armenian populated Azerbaijani
enclave of Nagorno Karabakh.

This was their sixth meeting this year. It will be held at the
residence of the French consul general in Munich in the presence of
co-chairmen of the OSCE Minsk Group on Nagorno Karabakh, who represent
Russia, France and the USA.

At the present moment, the sides are coordinating a draft framework
agreement on the settlement based on the so-called Madrid Principles,
presented by the co-chairmen in the Spanish capital in November 2007.

After the signing of the framework agreement work will begin on a
basic political document on the conflict settlement.

In July, the presidents of Russia, France and the USA confirmed in
a joint declaration within the G8 summit in Italy that the proposals
of the co-chairmen remain on the table of negotiations and urged the
conflicting sides to speed up work on final agreements.

The Madrid Principles, in particular, envisage the return under control
of Azerbaijan of its regions occupied by Armenia, the establishment
of an intermediate status of Nagorno Karabakh, envisaging guarantees
of security and administrative autonomy.

Armenia will be connected with Nagorno Karabakh by a corridor,
and its legal status will be determined within the framework of the
process of declaration of will, the results of which will get legal
force. The document stipulates the right of all displaced persons and
refugees to return to places of their former domicile. And finally,
there are international guarantees of security, which would include
an operation to support peace.

At talks on the Karabakh settlement, Armenia seeks "long-term
decisions, such decisions that will really bring peace and it will
be long-term," the Armenian president told reporters recently. "Our
approach to the whole process of negotiations is very serious and
responsible," Sargsyan noted.

He is confident that "sober decisions" do exist, but "they can be
found only when the parties engaged in negotiations have a realistic
approach to the existing situation".

According to Sargsyan, it would be incorrect "to achieve such decisions
that will possibly be accessible for a certain period, but will fail
to ensure lasting peace".

"We are going to this meeting with our own program. This meeting must
play a crucial role in the process of negotiations. If this meeting
also fails to produce results, then our hopes for negotiations will
be exhausted," he stressed.

He did not rule out that if his country lost hope for the process
of negotiations, it could opt for a military settlement. He said, in
particular, that Azerbaijan "has full authority to free its lands in
a military way". "International legal rules recognize this right of
ours," he stressed. He also emphasized that his country "will never
agree to the independence of Nagorno Karabakh".

Over the past year-and-a-half, the meeting in Munich will become the
eighth round of direct negotiations of the Armenian and Azerbaijani
presidents. Four of them took place in Russia.