PROPOSALS BY OSCE MINSK GROUP CO-CHAIRS TO BE REVIEWED BY DEPUTY MINISTER’S EXPERT
Trend News Agency, Azerbaijan
Dec 10 2007
Azerbaijan, Baku, / Trend. Corr. K.Ramazanova / The proposals made
by the OSCE Minsk Group Co-chairs to Azerbaijan should be reviewed
on an expert level to find out if Azerbaijan is prepared to work on
this document. Araz Azimov, Deputy Foreign Minister, said in talks
with journalists on 10 December.
"The ideas expressed by the co-chairs are of their own opinions and
should not be considered as a rule, even if someone urges that the
document is in Azerbaijan’s interests. It is necessary to consider
them on a political level prior to their consideration by experts so
that Azerbaijan can state its standpoint on the document," the Deputy
Foreign Minister said.
The OSCE Minsk Group Co-chairs submitted ten written proposals on
the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict both to Azerbaijan
and Armenia.
The document was presented in a meeting of Elmar Mammadyarov,
Azerbaijani Foreign Minister, Vardan Oskanian, Armenian Foreign
Minister, US Ambassador Mathew Bryza, an OSCE MG Co-Chair, Sergey
Lavrov, the Russian Foreign Minister and Nicolas Bern, the US Assistant
Secretary of State on international relations, in Madrid last Thursday.
Azimov said that Azerbaijan always constructively approached the
negotiations. There are ready proposals within the framework of the
Prague process, which aims to liberate the Azerbaijani territories
and return them back to the control of Azerbaijan, as well as to carry
out reconstruction work in this territory, repatriate Azerbaijanis to
Nagorno-Karabakh, establish co-operation between the two communities,
which in its turn can provide a chance to continue the political
process. "The proposals need to be reviewed. The important issues in
these proposals are still to be settled," Deputy Minister said.
Azerbaijan must not and cannot step back from its standpoint, as
nothing will be achieved if Armenia starts playing political games,
Deputy Minister said. "There is a unique opportunity to solve the
problem through peaceful ways," Azimov said.
The conflict between the two countries of the South Caucasus began
in 1988 due to Armenian territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Since
1992, Armenian Armed Forces have occupied 20% of Azerbaijan including
the Nagorno-Karabakh region and its seven surrounding districts. In
1994, Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement at which
time the active hostilities ended. The Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk
Group ( Russia, France, and the US) are currently holding peaceful
negotiations.