Azernews.Az

The Azerbaijani government welcomes the updated version of the basic principles for settling the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict over Upper (Nagorno) Garabagh, Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov has said.
"We deem as acceptable the updated basic principles for the conflict settlement proposed by the co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group [brokering the peace process] in Athens last December," Mammadyarov told a joint press briefing after meeting with the OSCE Chairman-in-Office, Kazakh Foreign Minister Kanat Saudabayev on Monday.
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 other Azerbaijani districts in defiance of international law. Despite numerous rounds of OSCE-brokered negotiations, peace talks have been fruitless so far and refugees remain stranded.
The minister said that despite certain elements that Baku is not satisfied with, his government supports the approach of stage-by-stage conflict resolution reflected in the Madrid Document, which is a peace outline initially brought forward by the mediators in November 2007.
The principles cover Armenian withdrawal from the occupied Azerbaijani territories, the return of Azerbaijani refugees displaced during the armed conflict in the early 1990s to their native lands, opening communication links, and providing suitable conditions for the co-existence of the Azerbaijani and Armenian communities of Upper Garabagh.
Mammadyarov noted that the "most difficult part" is liberation of the occupied territories and ensuring refugees’ return home. He said achieving progress on these issues would pave the way for resolving other problems, in particular, reopening communications.
As for the future status of Upper Garabagh, Mammadyarov said the region could be granted a high-level autonomy after its Azerbaijani residents return home and the two communities begin to live together in peaceful conditions.*