Garabagh vote could be held only within Azerbaijan - official
Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov has affirmed Baku’s
intransigent stance on its long-standing conflict with Armenia,
saying the final status of Upper (Nagorno) Garabagh, a region
occupied by Armenian forces since the 1990s, could be determined
strictly by a nationwide poll.
"If a referendum on Garabagh’s status takes place, it has to be held in the entire country’s territory, in compliance with Azerbaijan’s Constitution," Mammadyarov told a news conference Thursday.
He noted that it is too early to talk about Garabagh’s status at this point, reiterating that its determination requires a prior return of the Azerbaijani community of the region, displaced during the 1990s war, to their homes, and ensuring its peaceful co-existence with the Armenian residents. "Only after that could the status be determined. However, it is hard to say [now] how, through which procedures and based on which issues it will be determined. All this will be a topic of negotiations…The remaining issues can be solved within this framework by establishing some committees. These are not issues that can be settled overnight."
Mammadyarov also commented on Armenian Foreign Minister Eduard Nalbandian’s recent allegations that settling the long-standing dispute would be impossible without the Armenian community’s involvement.
"If Armenia accepts the Madrid principles [the peace outline submitted by the mediating OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs] and begins working on a comprehensive peace accord, then, certainly, both the Azerbaijani and Armenian communities of Upper Garabagh could participate in talks. But, at this stage, the Armenian community’s participation in negotiations would contradict the Minsk Group’s activity."
The conflict between the two South Caucasus republics flared up in the late 1980s due to Armenia's territorial claims. Armenia has been occupying over 20 percent of Azerbaijan's internationally recognized territory since the early 1990s. The ceasefire accord was signed in 1994, but years of peace talks have brought few tangible results. The Minsk Group co-chairs representing the United States, Russia and France initially proposed a peace outline on settling the conflict in the Spanish capital in November 2007. In Athens in November 2009, the updated version of the Madrid Document was submitted to the sides, and it is presently under discussion.*
"If a referendum on Garabagh’s status takes place, it has to be held in the entire country’s territory, in compliance with Azerbaijan’s Constitution," Mammadyarov told a news conference Thursday.
He noted that it is too early to talk about Garabagh’s status at this point, reiterating that its determination requires a prior return of the Azerbaijani community of the region, displaced during the 1990s war, to their homes, and ensuring its peaceful co-existence with the Armenian residents. "Only after that could the status be determined. However, it is hard to say [now] how, through which procedures and based on which issues it will be determined. All this will be a topic of negotiations…The remaining issues can be solved within this framework by establishing some committees. These are not issues that can be settled overnight."
Mammadyarov also commented on Armenian Foreign Minister Eduard Nalbandian’s recent allegations that settling the long-standing dispute would be impossible without the Armenian community’s involvement.
"If Armenia accepts the Madrid principles [the peace outline submitted by the mediating OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs] and begins working on a comprehensive peace accord, then, certainly, both the Azerbaijani and Armenian communities of Upper Garabagh could participate in talks. But, at this stage, the Armenian community’s participation in negotiations would contradict the Minsk Group’s activity."
The conflict between the two South Caucasus republics flared up in the late 1980s due to Armenia's territorial claims. Armenia has been occupying over 20 percent of Azerbaijan's internationally recognized territory since the early 1990s. The ceasefire accord was signed in 1994, but years of peace talks have brought few tangible results. The Minsk Group co-chairs representing the United States, Russia and France initially proposed a peace outline on settling the conflict in the Spanish capital in November 2007. In Athens in November 2009, the updated version of the Madrid Document was submitted to the sides, and it is presently under discussion.*
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