ARMENIA ACCUSES AZERBAIJAN OF DISTORTING KARABAKH TALKS

news.az
May 12 2010
Azerbaijan

Edward Nalbandian Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian has
told the Council of Europe that Azerbaijan is not constructive in
resolving the Karabakh conflict.

Addressing the Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers on 11 May,
Nalbandian referred to the basis for a conflict settlement, known as
the Madrid principles, proposed by the OSCE mediators.

‘The statement on Nagorno-Karabakh adopted by the OSCE foreign
ministers in Athens emphasizes the non-use of force or the threat
of force, the right of peoples to self-determination and territorial
integrity as basic principles of conflict settlement,’ Nalbandian said,
according to Armenian website A1+.

‘The same principles lie at the basis of the Madrid principles proposed
by the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs in 2007. For over a year Azerbaijan
was rejecting the existence of that document, until they announced
recently that they accept the proposals with certain reservations. If
we try to clarify what Azerbaijan agrees to and what it rejects, we’ll
see that there are a lot of exceptions. Azerbaijan not only continues
distorting the reasons, consequences and the essence of the conflict,
but also uses every opportunity to make threats of force at all levels.

‘Proceeding from the experience of the past years, it becomes obvious
that all Azerbaijani efforts to transfer the issue to other structures,
and thus affect the negotiations under way within the framework of
the OSCE Minsk Group, are unconstructive. Despite all the obstacles
Azerbaijan creates on the way of resolution of the conflict, Armenia
is resolute to uphold the efforts towards settlement of the conflict
through negotiations.’

The updated version of the Madrid principles, put forward by the OSCE
mediators in late 2009, has been the subject of discussions amongst
the mediators, Armenia and Azerbaijan ever since.

Baku accepts the updated principles in general, but ‘there are elements
that do not suit us’, Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov said in March,
comments that Nalbandian was presumably referring to yesterday.

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 remains
the biggest sticking point in the negotiations.