Azernews.Az

Armenian Foreign Minister Eduard Nalbandian has questioned Azerbaijan’s commitment to negotiating a settlement to the Upper (Nagorno) Garabagh conflict based on the peace outline currently under discussion.
"If the Almaty meeting takes place, first, Azerbaijan’s readiness to continue negotiating based on the updated Madrid principles should be clarified. This issue remains the main problem at the meeting," Nalbandian claimed. He was commenting on the talks between the Azerbaijani and Armenian foreign ministers that may be held Saturday on the sidelines of an OSCE ministerial, which will be joined by officials from the countries co-chairing the mediating OSCE Minsk Group.
Nalbandian alleged that "it was not the first time Azerbaijan was denying something".
"They rejected the Paris principles drawn up in Key West as well as the Madrid principles proposed in November 2007. Moreover, they are denying an OSCE plan on pulling snipers [from the frontline] and bolstering ceasefire and Armenia’s proposal on signing an agreement on non-use of force," Nalbandian maintained at a news conference with Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski.
Azerbaijan and Armenia have been locked in conflict for nearly two decades. A lengthy war 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. Peace talks, brokered by US, Russian and French mediators through the Minsk Group, are ongoing based on the Madrid principles, an outline for a conflict settlement proposed by the mediators. The outline covers such issues as the return of the territories surrounding Nagorno Garabagh to Azerbaijani control, the future status of Nagorno Garabagh, and the right of IDPs displaced during the armed conflict in the early 1990s to return home. Azerbaijan generally accepts the renewed Madrid principles, while the Armenian stance remains unclear.*