IS ARMENIA READY FOR DEAL? – ASKS AZERBAIJANI MINISTER

news.az
March 11 2010
Azerbaijan

Elmar Mammadyarov The Karabakh peace process is working to secure
Armenia’s agreement to the updated Madrid principles for a settlement.

‘As far as I know, during the meeting of Presidents Sargsyan and
Sarkozy, the French president reiterated his full support for
the updated Madrid principles. Let’s see what news comes from the
Armenian side,’ Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov said
today at a meeting of the deputy foreign ministers of the Caspian
coastal countries in Baku.

He said that no meeting was scheduled for the Azerbaijani and Armenian
presidents at present.

‘The Azerbaijani side has already announced that it accepts the updated
Madrid principles. The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group will invite
the foreign ministers to Paris to discuss the updated guidelines. Then
we will define the direction of our further work with the co-chairs,’
the minister said.

‘We believe that the updated version of the Madrid principles creates
an opportunity for the discussion of a comprehensive agreement. In my
opinion, first of all, it should be accepted by the Armenian side. But
the Armenian side claims that there are some points that they cannot
accept. We are now working on it,’ he said, without elaborating on
the matters in question.

Mammadyarov said that the entire international community expected
and wanted progress in resolving the Karabakh conflict with the
liberation of the occupied lands and the return home of internally
displaced persons.

‘The only question to the leadership of Armenia is whether they are
ready or not,’ Mammadyarov said.

The Madrid principles include the return of the territories surrounding
Nagorno-Karabakh to Azerbaijani control, an interim status for Karabakh
providing guarantees for security and self-governance, and the future
determination of the final legal status of Nagorno-Karabakh through a
legally binding expression of will. The status of Karabakh is thought
to be the key sticking point in the negotiations. Azerbaijan insists
that Karabakh should remain within Azerbaijan, as is recognized by
international law, while Armenia wants a different status for the
territory.

Commenting on the resolution of the US House of Representatives
Foreign Affairs Committee, recognizing the killings of Armenians in
1915 as ‘genocide’, Mammadyarov said the resolution was harmful to
the Karabakh settlement.

‘If members of Congress discuss the events of 100 years ago, they
should also assess the recent genocide of 20 years ago that happened
in Khojaly. In this sense, I do not believe that such an action would
promote peace and stability in the South Caucasus,’ Mammadyarov said.

He said that the decision had a negative impact on the Karabakh
settlement.

‘On the whole, the action has a negative impact because we believe
that if the Congress adopts one-sided resolutions, despite the fact
that Armenia occupies 20 percent of Azerbaijani land resulting in
one million refugees and internally displaced persons, this poses the
greatest threat to security in the region. Therefore, we consider that
the issue of peace and stability in the South Caucasus, if discussed
in Congress, should address not only the historical aspect, but also
the current situation,’ the minister said