Garabagh status ‘key’ in conflict settlement - Armenian FM
Armenian Foreign Minister Eduard Nalbandian has claimed that the
status of Upper (Nagorno) Garabagh, an Azeri region under Armenian
occupation, remains a key issue in settling the Garabagh
conflict.
"Without a solution of the main issue regarding the Garabagh problem – Upper Garabagh’s status – it is difficult to talk about resolving other problems," Nalbandian maintained at a press conference Wednesday. "Recognizing and enforcing the right of Upper Garabagh to self-determination remains the main issue of a conflict settlement."
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. Baku says the status of Upper Garabagh could be determined strictly within Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity and only after Armenian forces have pulled out of the occupied land and Azerbaijani refugees displaced during the hostilities have returned home.
Nalbandian added that the Madrid principles, a peace outline proposed by the mediators in November 2007, are the basis for the ongoing peace talks.
"The [mediating] OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs continue offering working options for the conflict resolution, and this will be ongoing until a rapprochement in the sides’ positions is achieved," the Armenian minister said.*
"Without a solution of the main issue regarding the Garabagh problem – Upper Garabagh’s status – it is difficult to talk about resolving other problems," Nalbandian maintained at a press conference Wednesday. "Recognizing and enforcing the right of Upper Garabagh to self-determination remains the main issue of a conflict settlement."
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. Baku says the status of Upper Garabagh could be determined strictly within Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity and only after Armenian forces have pulled out of the occupied land and Azerbaijani refugees displaced during the hostilities have returned home.
Nalbandian added that the Madrid principles, a peace outline proposed by the mediators in November 2007, are the basis for the ongoing peace talks.
"The [mediating] OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs continue offering working options for the conflict resolution, and this will be ongoing until a rapprochement in the sides’ positions is achieved," the Armenian minister said.*
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