Armenians opposed to conflict settlement outline: poll
Armenia`s population is opposed to the Madrid
principles, an outline for settling the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict
over Upper (Nagorno) Garabagh proposed by international mediators
in 2007, a recent opinion poll has found.
61.3 percent of the people polled by the Research Center for Political Development claimed the proposed peace outline is unacceptable for Armenia, according to the local News.am website.
About 21 percent of those polled spoke in favor of the Madrid principles, while 14 percent had difficulty answering the question.
Vaan Dilanyan, the head of the center, told journalists that the Armenian public and Armenian residents of Upper Garabagh, an Azerbaijani region under Armenian occupation, are opposed to making concessions.
"This is due to the fact that there are provisions in the Madrid principles that are absolutely unacceptable for us. The key ones are the issue of Lachin and Kalbajar [districts]," Dilanyan said.
The Armenian analyst believes that the governments of both Armenia and Azerbaijan should either convince their citizens to accept the Madrid principles and disrupt the status quo or agree with their citizens and reject the document. He added that the latter option cannot ensure "a certain future."
The basic principles for the conflict settlement, presented by the US, Russian and French intermediaries in the Spanish capital, call for "the return of the territories surrounding Upper Garabagh to Azerbaijani control." Five of the districts are to be vacated immediately, while the remaining two strategic districts - Lachin and Kalbajar - are to be handed over during a five year period. In the meantime, an interim status for Upper Garabagh providing guarantees for security and self-government is envisioned. The outline also covered "a corridor linking Armenia to Upper Garabagh" as well as a future determination of the final legal status of Upper Garabagh "through a legally binding expression of will" and the right of "internally displaced persons and refugees to return to their former places of residence."
61.3 percent of the people polled by the Research Center for Political Development claimed the proposed peace outline is unacceptable for Armenia, according to the local News.am website.
About 21 percent of those polled spoke in favor of the Madrid principles, while 14 percent had difficulty answering the question.
Vaan Dilanyan, the head of the center, told journalists that the Armenian public and Armenian residents of Upper Garabagh, an Azerbaijani region under Armenian occupation, are opposed to making concessions.
"This is due to the fact that there are provisions in the Madrid principles that are absolutely unacceptable for us. The key ones are the issue of Lachin and Kalbajar [districts]," Dilanyan said.
The Armenian analyst believes that the governments of both Armenia and Azerbaijan should either convince their citizens to accept the Madrid principles and disrupt the status quo or agree with their citizens and reject the document. He added that the latter option cannot ensure "a certain future."
The basic principles for the conflict settlement, presented by the US, Russian and French intermediaries in the Spanish capital, call for "the return of the territories surrounding Upper Garabagh to Azerbaijani control." Five of the districts are to be vacated immediately, while the remaining two strategic districts - Lachin and Kalbajar - are to be handed over during a five year period. In the meantime, an interim status for Upper Garabagh providing guarantees for security and self-government is envisioned. The outline also covered "a corridor linking Armenia to Upper Garabagh" as well as a future determination of the final legal status of Upper Garabagh "through a legally binding expression of will" and the right of "internally displaced persons and refugees to return to their former places of residence."
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