‘ALL AZERBAIJANIS’ TO TAKE PART IN KARABAKH REFERENDUM

news.az
March 18 2010
Azerbaijan

Elmar Mammadyarov Azerbaijan’s foreign minister has made clear that
a referendum on the status of Karabakh would have to be held in
Azerbaijan as a whole.

The referendum on the status of the disputed territory is one of the
stages of a peace settlement, as set out in the Madrid principles
for resolving the conflict.

The principles were put forward by the foreign ministers of the
countries co-chairing the Minsk Group of mediators at the OSCE summit
in Madrid in 2007. An updated version of the principles put forward in
late 2009 has been the subject of discussions between the mediators,
Armenia and Azerbaijan ever since.

Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov outlined Baku’s position
on the settlement process at a joint press conference with the visiting
Romanian foreign minister, Teodor Baconschi, today.

‘Under the Constitution of Azerbaijan, if the territory of the country
is at issue, a referendum is held throughout the country and voting
involves all citizens,’ Mammadyarov said.

The minister said Azerbaijan had accepted some points in the updated
version of the Madrid principles, but some points needed further work.

‘If Armenia accepts the Madrid principles and the sides start to work
on a major peace agreement, then both the Azerbaijani and Armenian
communities of Nagorno-Karabakh can join the peace talks. At the
present stage, only Azerbaijan and Armenia are participating in the
negotiations,’ Mammadyarov said.

Mammadyarov said that before the status of Nagorno-Karabakh could be
decided, the Azerbaijani community had to return home. ‘Azerbaijanis
must co-exist with Armenians and only after that can status be
determined via negotiations. This is a long process. It cannot
be determined within a day. If the Armenian side agrees and the
Azerbaijani community returns to Nagorno-Karabakh, we will find answers
to these questions within the framework of a special committee.’