Azernews.Az

MOSCOW – Delaying agreement on basic principles for a settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict over Nagorno Karabakh is "counter-productive", the Russian foreign ministry spokesman was quoted by the local RIA Novosti news agency as saying.

Alexander Lukashevich said there are great hopes that the recent statement made by the US, French and Russian leaders in Deauville will help the sides "to realize the edge" that the process of political settlement of the Karabakh conflict has reached. Furthermore, a specific task of adopting the basic principles will face the conflict parties, he said.

"Postponing this process and engaging in reciprocal rhetoric has become counter-productive," Lukashevich said. "The [US, French and Russian] presidents’ signal is that it is necessary to reach agreement, adopt these principles and then work on a key document that will outline the features of a settlement."

The May 26 statement by Presidents Barack Obama, Nicolas Sarkozy and Dmitry Medvedev, whose countries co-chair the mediating OSCE Minsk Group, called on the Azerbaijani and Armenian leaders "to prepare their people for peace, not war". They urged the two presidents to finalize the basic principles of a peace agreement during the June 25 summit in Kazan.

Azerbaijan and Armenia waged a brutal war in the early 1990s. About 20 percent of Azerbaijani territory, including Nagorno Karabakh, has been under the occupation of the Armenian armed forces since a ceasefire was signed in 1994. Peace talks are underway on the basis of the Madrid principles, a peace outline proposed by the Minsk Group co-chairs.

The Madrid Document stipulates a gradual Armenian withdrawal from the territories around Nagorno Karabakh and an "interim status" for the region, giving it enhanced legitimacy, but not independence.

Baku has accepted the Madrid principles with some exceptions, while Yerevan has yet to state formally whether or not it accepts the peace outline.