Azernews.Az

ASTANA – The Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict over Nagorno Karabakh was high on the agenda of world leaders meeting in Astana, Kazakhstan on Wednesday for a key summit aiming to revive the OSCE’s role in countering security threats.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said a settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict is to comply with the Helsinki document and the six principles stated by the leaders of the mediating OSCE Minsk Group co-chairing countries in L’Aquila and Muskoka.

"None of these principles can be singled out, as this will not allow to settle the conflict," Clinton said.

The presidents of Russia, the United States and France issued joint statements on Karabakh settlement at the summits in L’Aquila, Italy in July 2009 and in Muskoka, Canada in June 2010. The statements said that a solution of the long-standing conflict must be based on a number of principles, including returning the Armenia-occupied territories surrounding Nagorno Karabakh to Azerbaijani control, an interim status for the Azerbaijani region providing guarantees of security and self-government, and a corridor linking Armenia with Nagorno Karabakh. The final legal determination of the future status of Nagorno Karabakh through a legally binding expression of will and the right of internally displaced persons and refugees to return home, international guarantees of security, including peacekeeping operations, are among these principles.

French Prime Minister Francois Fillon said while addressing the OSCE summit that his country, as a Minsk Group co-chair, was committed to facilitating a settlement to the Karabakh conflict.

"The conflict is to be settled on the basis of a balanced decision, which would build on the principles reflected in the L’Aquila and Muskoka statements. These principles should be reviewed as an integral and undivided package."

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said Moscow supported a peaceful resolution of conflicts. "The military solution that occurred in Georgia is unacceptable," he said.

Medvedev said efforts should be redoubled to achieve a settlement based on the basic principles put forward by the mediating OSCE Minsk Group.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel also touched upon the Karabakh conflict in her remarks. Merkel said that a solution should dwell upon the points that have already been agreed by the parties.

Talks between Baku and Yerevan are underway on the basis of the Madrid principles, a peace outline proposed by international mediators. The OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs initially proposed the document in the Spanish capital in November 2007. In Athens in November 2009, the updated version of the Madrid Document was submitted to the sides. Baku has accepted the renewed Madrid Document with some exceptions, while Yerevan has yet to state a clear-cut stance on the peace outline.

The conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia began in 1988 due to Armenia’s territorial claims. The two countries fought a lengthy war that ended with the signing of a cease-fire in 1994. About 20 percent of Azerbaijani territory, including Nagorno Karabakh and seven adjacent regions, is still under the occupation of the Armenian armed forces. Peace talks have been largely fruitless so far.