Azernews.Az

BAKU – Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan has said he was heading to Friday’s talks on the Nagorno Karabakh conflict with his Azerbaijani counterpart Ilham Aliyev with "optimism" and a commitment to negotiate constructively.

"The parties’ positions on the issue are clear, and I believe that now is a very good time for the sides to state their final views on the basic principles [of the conflict settlement]. Let’s wait and see how the negotiations will proceed and what will be their outcomes," Sargsyan told a news briefing after meeting Council of Europe Secretary General Thorbjorn Jagland on the sidelines of the CE parliamentary assembly’s summer session on Wednesday.

Presidents Aliyev and Sargsyan will hold talks with their Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev’s mediation in the Russian city of Kazan. The ninth in a series of trilateral meetings on the Karabakh conflict will be held on the sidelines of the annual horse race named after the Russian president.

"I can’t say with full confidence that perfect results will be achieved at the Kazan meeting," Sargsyan continued. "One thing is clear though, and it’s that the [mediating] OSCE Minsk Group is a good format for the conflict settlement.

"To reach lasting peace, the conflict must be resolved fairly. We have been working on the documents to be
discussed in Kazan for a long time. Many meetings have been held in this regard. Certainly, these documents do not fully reflect the Armenian side’s wishes. But they do allow to move the negotiating process forward and to sign a general peace accord."

Azerbaijan and Armenia waged a brutal war which claimed some 30,000 lives and displaced about a million Azerbaijanis. 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 principles include the return of the territories surrounding Nagorno Karabakh to Azerbaijani control; determining the final legal status of Nagorno Karabakh; a corridor linking Armenia to the region; and the right of all internally displaced persons and refugees to return to their homes.

Regarding Armenia’s relations with Turkey, Sargsyan reminded that the process of normalizing bilateral ties began two years ago with the signing of the protocols aiming to establish diplomatic relations and reopen the two countries’ sealed borders.

"There are currently no advances in our relations, and the process is deadlocked. Turkey has not yet recognized the genocide committed against the Armenians. Turkey’s position makes it impossible to ratify the protocols at this point," Sargsyan claimed.

Turkey and Armenia have been at odds for decades due to Armenia’s occupation of Azerbaijani territory and Armenian claims on 1915 "genocide" in the Ottoman Empire. The reconciliation agreements, signed by Ankara and Yerevan in October 2009, require parliamentary approval. However, Turkey has assured Azerbaijan, its ally, that the protocols will not be ratified until progress is made in resolving the Nagorno Karabakh conflict. In response, Armenia suspended ratification of the protocols in April 2010.