news.az, Azerbaijan
March 5 2010

Karabakh tops Azerbaijani minister’s Paris agenda
Fri 05 March 2010 | 07:25 GMT Text size:

Elmar Mammadyarov APA news agency interviews Azerbaijani Foreign
Minister Elmar Mammadyarov.

What is the main aim of your meeting with the co-chairs of the Minsk
Group during your 5 March visit to Paris?

Since 2004 the negotiations on the resolution of the
Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh, mediated by the
OSCE Minsk Group, have continued within the framework of the Prague
process, which envisaged a stage-by-stage approach to conflict
resolution. As part of this process, during the meeting held in Madrid
in November 2007 the foreign ministers of the countries co-chairing
the Minsk Group put forward the proposals on the settlement of the
conflict that reflect the positions of the conflicting parties.

These proposals were accepted as the basis for further negotiations
and since then the negotiations have been held around them. Over the
past two years the co-chairs paid a number of visits to the region and
numerous meetings were held at the level of the two countries’
presidents and foreign ministers. Hard work has been done on different
approaches to the proposals. I would like to recall that only in 2009
the presidents of Azerbaijan and Armenia met six times. Several
trilateral meetings were held at the initiative of the president of
the Russian Federation, Mr Dmitry Medvedev.

As a result, the co-chairs of the Minsk Group submitted to the
conflicting parties a new document which contained updated proposals
reflecting the positions of Azerbaijan and Armenia. The Azerbaijani
side further announced that it accepted the document in principle
after thorough analysis and with few exceptions. We would like to know
the reaction of the Armenian side with regard to the updated version
of the document and this is why I will meet the Minsk Group co-chairs
in Paris on 5 March.

As I said, in the last two years hard work has been done with the
participation of the co-chairs and there is now a document that
provides a basis for a comprehensive resolution of the conflict. The
existing situation shows the inadmissibility of the present status quo
and requires a solution to the conflict as soon as possible.

The joint statement by the presidents of the countries co-chairing the
OSCE Minsk Group made at the G8 Summit in L’Aquila, Italy on 10 July
2009, the joint statement by the foreign ministers of France and
Russia and the US deputy secretary of state, in their capacity as
heads of delegations of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairing countries,
made at the OSCE Ministerial Council in Athens on 1 December 2009, the
statement by the Spanish foreign minister Miguel Angel Moratinos
during his visit to the region as European Union president, as well as
positions expressed by various government officials, international and
regional organizations show that the international community is
interested and committed to finding a solution to the conflict as soon
as possible.

The Armenian leadership says that any preconditions on ratification of
the Armenian-Turkish protocols and the opening of the border are
unacceptable. What is your opinion?

We have explained our position on this issue on numerous occasions.
Azerbaijan pursues a policy of non-interference in the domestic
affairs of other countries and in relations between countries. But it
is well known that Turkey closed its borders with Armenia in protest
at the latter’s occupation of Azerbaijani territories and this
occupation is still continuing.

There is a logical conclusion, therefore, that if Armenia wants to
open its borders with Turkey it should put an end to the occupation of
Azerbaijani land and withdraw its troops from the occupied
territories. Turkish officials have also stated that and we believe it
to be a sound position. At the same time, the last proposals
elaborated by the Minsk Group co-chairs and based on the positions of
the conflicting sides also consider the opening of all communications
in the region as part of the settlement of the conflict.

Hence, resolution of the conflict will lead to the opening of all
borders and communications, the restoration of infrastructure,
integration of the economy and generally to welfare and prosperity in
the region. For this to happen, first and foremost, the Armenian
troops should be withdrawn from the occupied lands of Azerbaijan and
the internally displaced Azerbaijanis should return to their
homelands.

APA