AZERBAIJANI FM: IF ARMENIA ACCEPTS UPDATED MADRID PRINCIPLES, IT WILL BE POSSIBLE TO WORK ON PEACE ACCORD
Today
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March 18 2010
Azerbaijan
In order to solve the most important problem on the negotiating table
it is necessary to withdraw Armenian troops from occupied Azerbaijani
territories and return IDPs there, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar
Mammadyarov said at a joint press conference with Romanian Foreign
Minister Teodor Baconsky in Baku.
He said Baku has not received information from the OSCE Minsk Group
co-chairs on Yerevan’s position regarding the updated version of the
Madrid principles offered to Armenia by the co-chairs.
"Azerbaijan’s position is that if Armenia accepts the updated Madrid
principles, it will open up an opportunity to continue work on a
larger peace agreement," Mammadyarov said.
Commenting on Edward Nalbandian’s statement on necessity of involving
Armenian community of Nagorno-Karabakh in the negotiation process,
Mammadyarov said that there are relevant decisions by the OSCE to hold
negotiations between Azerbaijan and Armenia and the Armenian community
of Nagorno-Karabakh can not join this process at current stage.
As for defining status of Nagorno-Karabakh, the minister said this
would be possible only after the Azerbaijani community retruns there.
"The status of the Nagorno Karabakh will be determined through
negotiations," the minister added.
According to Mammadyarov, holding a referendum in Nagorno-Karabakh is
illegal because, under the Azerbaijani Constitution, any referendum
in the country must cover the entire territory of the country, not
just one part of it.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
