Azernews.Az

BAKU – Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan has welcomed the outcomes of the Russian-brokered talks on the Nagorno Karabakh conflict held with his Azerbaijani counterpart Ilham Aliyev on March 5, saying progress was seen in Baku’s stance.

Sargsyan said in a meeting with the Armenian community in Riga that just a week earlier he could not predict any progress in the peace process.

"But after the meeting held on March 5 in Sochi, I can say that there is some progress in Azerbaijan’s stance. We will probably be able to reach a certain agreement on the principles of [conflict] resolution in the future. I am referring to the basic principles proposed by the co-chairs [of the mediating OSCE Minsk Group] – non-use of force, self-determination of nations and territorial integrity."

Sargsyan said that after these principles have been agreed, a new stage in peace talks could begin.

"A number of issues will be specified during this stage. I mean that agreeing the basic principles is just the beginning, not the end of negotiations," the Armenian president said.

Baku has also said there was some progress in Yerevan’s stance during the talks held with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev’s mediation in Sochi, with Azerbaijani President’s aide Novruz Mammadov citing "slight positive changes".

Mammadov did not rule out that the Russian president’s vigorous effort in settling the Karabakh conflict could have an impact on Yerevan’s altering its stance.

Azerbaijan and Armenia fought a lengthy war that ended with the signing of a precarious cease-fire in 1994. Armenian armed forces have since occupied over 20 percent of Azerbaijan's internationally recognized territory, including Nagorno Karabakh.