EDWARD NALBANDIAN: ARMENIA HAS DECLARED LONG AGO THAT IT ADMITS THE MADRID PRINCIPLES AS A BASIS FOR NEGOTIATIONS
Arminfo
2010-03-18 13:24:00
ArmInfo. Armenia has declared long ago that it admits the Madrid
Principles as a basis for negotiations for settlement of the Karabakh
conflict, said Edward Nalbandian, Foreign Minister of Armenia,
in response to ArmInfo’s question when speaking in a joint press
conference with Slovakian Foreign Minister Miroslav Lajcak on Thursday.
"As you know Azerbaijan had been refusing even discussion of the
Madrid Principles proposed in yet Nov 2007 for a long period of time.
Even when Baku started discussions on the basis of the Madrid
documents, it did not announced officially that it admits them as a
basis for negotiations," E. Nalbandian said. The minister believes
that now when Baku has finally declared that it admits the Madrid
proposals as a basis for negotiations, Armenia cannot but welcome
this. "In their latest public statements there are rather exceptions
than admissions. For instance, there are nearly 10 exceptions,
and only one or two issues related to the conflict aftermaths, they
admit," the minister said. Edward Nalbandian outlined that the Madrid
Principles are still on the negotiating table and discussions are
continued on their basis. "The OSCE MG Co-Chairs have made working
proposals throughout process and the latest ones were also working.
Like the previous ones we are discussing also the latest working
proposals and there is nothing extraordinary in it," the minister said.
Edward Nalbandian said that it is just a smokescreen presenting
that one party admits the Madrid Proposals and the other doesn’t,
one party is constructive and the other is not. Azernbaijan uses
this smokescreen from time to time, especially recently. As regards
the Paris meeting with the MG Co- Chairs, it was rather constructive,
the minister said. "We continued the discussions we held on the basis
of the Madrid Principles over the last two-three years in the same
constructive spirit," he said.