Azernews.Az

BAKU - Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov said Monday that the economy "will sooner or later have a say" in settling the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict over Upper (Nagorno) Garabagh.
Mammadyarov told reporters in Baku that following the meeting with his Armenian counterpart in Almaty on Saturday, he had arrived at a conclusion that Armenia is not ready for reaching a solution of the long-standing conflict "at least on the foreign minister level".
The minister said Azerbaijan has achieved considerable growth compared to Armenia, however, "Azerbaijan should be somewhat patient" for this factor to play a crucial role in Garabagh settlement.
"Throughout history, the economy has served as a basis for settling all conflicts. So, we should rather be a little patient and convey this stance of ours to Armenia that this [a settlement to the conflict] complies with their national interests as well, because this will allow for Armenia to develop to some extent."
According to Mammadyarov, regardless of Yerevan’s statements, "independence" of Nagorno Garabagh cannot be a subject of negotiations.
"We, on our end, are saying that, if you want to, we could open up the borders, forge trade ties, implement economic projects, but, first, Armenia must pull its troops from Azerbaijani lands. Then, things will change completely."
Mammadyarov said the co-chairs of the mediating OSCE Minsk Group - the United States, Russia and France – are now unequivocally stating that the Armenia-occupied territories must be freed.
The Azerbaijani minister said no joint statement was adopted at the five-lateral ministerial meeting in Kazakhstan due to Yerevan’s failing to agree upon numerous issues. However, Russian and French Foreign Ministers Sergei Lavrov and Bernard Kouchner and US Deputy Secretary of State James Steinberg issued a statement following the talks, which indicates that the Minsk Group co-chairing states "do not want the process to be discontinued".
Mammadyarov added that Baku was ready to continue holding talks but their results would depend on Yerevan.
"To this day nothing secret is left in the negotiating process. The plan of negotiations is common knowledge and this plan was endorsed by the presidents’ statement at the G8 summit in Toronto," the minister said.
The statement, issued by Presidents Dmitry Medvedev, Barack Obama and Nicolas Sarkozy during the summit in Canada on June 26, called on the Armenian and Azerbaijani leaders to finalize the main principles of Garabagh settlement in order to begin drafting a peace accord. The statement referred to several key principles of the peace process, including the return of the territories surrounding Nagorno Garabagh to Azerbaijani control, an interim status for Nagorno Garabagh providing guarantees of security and self-government, the determination of the future legal status of the Azerbaijani region through a legally binding expression of will and the right of refugees and IDPs to return home, as well as international guarantees of security, including peacekeeping operations.
The conflict between the two South Caucasus republics reared up in the late 1980s due to Armenia's territorial claims. Armenia has been occupying over 20 percent of Azerbaijan's territory since the early 1990s in defiance of international law. The ceasefire accord was signed in 1994. Peace talks are ongoing based on the Madrid principles, an outline for a conflict settlement proposed by the mediators. The updated Madrid Document envisions an Armenian withdrawal from five out of the seven occupied regions surrounding breakaway Nagorno Garabagh after the signing of a peace accord, while the strategic Kalbajar and Lachin regions must be returned within five years thereafter.
Azerbaijan stated that it generally accepts the renewed Madrid principles early this year, while the Armenian stance remains unclear.