Azernews.Az

The Armenian opposition has accused the government of making concessions at the latest round of talks on the Upper (Nagorno) Garabagh conflict between the Armenian and Azerbaijani foreign ministers held in Athens on Tuesday.
In a statement, the Armenian National Congress, led by the former president Levon Ter-Petrosian, said that at the OSCE Ministerial Council in the Greek capital, Yerevan assumed a commitment to seek the speediest solution to the Upper Garabagh conflict in compliance with the Helsinki Final Act, which stipulates non-use of force, territorial integrity of states and self-determination of nations.
"Thus, Armenia has for the first time formally provided its consent for the Garabagh conflict to be settled within the frames of Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity. In this case, the inclusion of the right of nations to self-determination in the number of conflict settlement principles does not in any way soften or compensate Armenia’s surrendering its positions. Simultaneous application of the territorial integrity principles and the right to self-determination means that, no matter how high the status of Upper Garabagh autonomy is, it will be enforced within Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity, i.e. Upper Garabagh will be part of Azerbaijan. Thus, Armenia has agreed to such a settlement to the Garabagh problem that crosses out any prospects for international recognition of the Upper Garabagh Republic’s independence."
Azerbaijan and Armenia fought a lengthy war that ended with the signing of a cease-fire in 1994, but Armenia continues to occupy Upper Garabagh and seven adjacent Azerbaijani districts in defiance of international law. Though the separatist regime in Upper Garabagh declared so-called independence at the time of the Soviet collapse in 1991, this "independence", which blatantly tramples on international law, has not been recognized by the world community.
The governments of Russia, France and the United States, the three countries brokering settlement to the Garabagh dispute, issued a statement after the talks, held by their top diplomats in Athens with Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov and Armenia’s Edward Nalbandian. Both sides and the mediators noted the positive dynamic in peace talks, demonstrated through six meetings this year between the Azerbaijani and Armenian presidents. They agreed that the increasing frequency of these meetings has significantly contributed to an enhanced dialogue between the parties and forward movement toward finalizing the Basic Principles for the peaceful settlement of the Garabagh conflict, proposed in Madrid by the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs in November 2007.
The basic principles for the conflict settlement, outlined in the document, call for "the return of the territories surrounding Upper Garabagh to Azerbaijani control." 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."*