Azernews.Az

YEREVAN – The outcomes of the Russian-brokered talks on Nagorno Karabakh conflict between Azerbaijani and Armenian leaders due in Kazan on June 25 depend on "the extent of Azerbaijan’s constructivism", Armenian Foreign Minister Eduard Nalbandyan was quoted by Armenia Today news website as saying.

Nalbandyan told a news conference in Yerevan that the sides managed to bring their positions closer on a slew of key issues at the meeting of Azerbaijani, Armenian and Russian foreign ministers in Moscow on Saturday. "If this positive trend lingers on in Kazan, we will be able to say that progress has been reached," Nalbandyan said.

Commenting on the Azerbaijani leaders’ statement that the upcoming meeting of the presidents is "the last chance" to make headway on Karabakh settlement and war could resume if it is fruitless, Nalbandyan said "who is not letting Baku avail of this chance?"

He claimed that the first stage of Karabakh settlement could be considered complete when not only Armenia and Azerbaijan but also the self-proclaimed Nagorno Karabakh republic approves of basic principles for the conflict resolution. "I agree with Bako Saakyan [the separatist leader]. If Stepanakert [the center of the self-proclaimed republic] does not agree to the basic principles, it will be impossible to shift to the next stage in the settlement process."

Nalbandyan added that a peace accord is to be drafted during the second stage of the conflict resolution, alleging that the self-proclaimed republic should definitely be involved in peace talks at this stage.

The Karabakh conflict flared up in the late 1980s due to Armenia's territorial claims. Armenian armed forces have occupied over 20 percent of Azerbaijan's territory, including Nagorno Karabakh, since the two countries signed a precarious cease-fire in 1994 following a lengthy war. Peace talks are underway on the basis of the Madrid principles, a peace outline proposed by the mediating OSCE Minsk Group’s co-chairs.

The status of the Nagorno Karabakh region where the separatist regime proclaimed so-called independence in 1991 has been a stumbling block in the ongoing peace talks. Baku says the occupied districts must be freed and the displaced Azerbaijanis returned home, and only after that could the region’s status be determined within Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity, while Armenia insists that self-determination is the core principle for a settlement of the dispute.