Azernews.Az

The presidents of Russia, the United States and France – the three countries co-chairing the OSCE Minsk Group brokering settlement to the Upper (Nagorno) Garabagh conflict - have called on the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan to accelerate work on the basic principles of the conflict settlement in order to begin drafting a peace accord, Russian RIA Novosti news agency reported.
"Currently, the presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan should make one more step and finalize the main principles in order to be able to tackle a peace agreement draft," said a joint statement issued by Dmitry Medvedev, Barack Obama and Nicolas Sarkozy during a G8 summit in Canada.
The three presidents instructed their foreign ministers and the mediators to "continue actively encouraging Armenia and Azerbaijan to overcome the existing differences in preparation for a joint meeting on the margins of the informal ministerial forum of the OSCE in Almaty."
The Russian, US and French leaders reaffirmed their commitment to support the leaders of Azerbaijan and Armenia to finalize their agreement upon the main conflict resolution principles.
The statement noted that the heads of states - co-chairs of the Minsk Group considered as an important step forward the recognition by both parties of the fact that a settlement must be based on several principles, among which are returning the territories surrounding Nagorno Garabagh to Azerbaijani control, an interim status for the Azerbaijani region providing guarantees of security and self-government, and a corridor linking Armenia with Nagorno Garabagh.
The final legal determination of the future status of Nagorno 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, international guarantees of security, including peacekeeping operations, are among these principles.
The Minsk Group co-chairs initially proposed a peace outline in November 2007, and submitted the updated Madrid Document in November 2009. Azerbaijan stated that it accepts the renewed Madrid principles early this year, while the Armenian stance remains unclear.
Armenia, which has delayed the approval of the Madrid Document - and peace talks overall - under various pretexts for three years, has welcomed the efforts of the Minsk Group co-chairing countries to facilitate a peaceful conflict settlement and foster rapprochement in the sides’ positions. Foreign Minister Eduard Nalbandian said that, further to the statement issued in L’Aquila in July 2009, the statement adopted at the summit in Canada affirms the norms accepted by Yerevan as the main principles of the conflict settlement. Some analysts, however, say that the presidents’ statement is grounds for Armenia to seriously ponder the situation.
Rasim Musabayov, an Azerbaijani political analyst, told the Baku-based ANS TV channel that the co-chairing countries’ leaders are thus trying to explain to Armenia that non-constructivism it is displaying in peace talks "would turn out costly for them".
"The [peace] process is deadlocked, and the co-chairing states can see that," Musabayov said. "Following the Sochi meeting of the [Azerbaijani and Armenian] presidents, not only has there not been any progress, but an impasse emerged. This statement opposes the Armenians’ dragging out time. If we look at the premise of the statement, it does not differ from the one issued in L’Aquila in 2009. The only difference is that the Madrid principles had been enumerated in L’Aquila. I think that this statement ought to spoil the Armenians’ mood.
"A general document has been put forth, and attitude toward it should be expressed. It is important to agree with [its] provisions and continue the process. And the process demands an Armenian pullout from the occupied territories," the analyst said.
Meanwhile, another meeting has been scheduled between the Azerbaijani and Armenian foreign ministers. Elmar Mammadyarov and Armenia’s Nalbandian are expected to meet on the sidelines of the informal OSCE ministerial to be held in Almaty July 16-17.*