Azernews.Az

Armenian Foreign Minister Eduard Nalbandian has said progress is seen in settling the Armenia-Azerbaijan Upper (Nagorno) Garabagh conflict, but finding a solution to the long-standing dispute is a lengthy process.
Nalbandian told reporters in Athens that the parties are discussing several principles of the Madrid Document, the peace outline proposed by the OSCE mediators in late 2007.
"A rapprochement is observed in the sides’ positions on some issues. However, this does not account even for a third of the agreement," he said, but added that the positive dynamic in peace talks achieved through meetings between the Azerbaijani and Armenian leaders will be maintained.
According to Nalbandian, it is high time advances were made toward a conflict settlement. "If agreement is reached on the main principles of [conflict] settlement, a need will arise to draft a [peace] accord. But this work will require a long time," the Armenian minister said.
He also claimed that Upper Garabagh will be involved in the process of preparing a peace agreement.
Armenia has been occupying over 20% of Azerbaijan’s internationally recognized territory since the early 1990s. As a result of this aggression, the separatist regime in the occupied Upper Garabagh region proclaimed so-called independence in 1991. The declaration of "independence," which is, itself, a blatant violation of international law, has not been recognized by any country, to date.*