Azernews.Az

The outgoing British ambassador in Yerevan has said there are grounds for a peaceful settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan dispute over Nagorno Karabakh and a solution requires only political will of the conflict parties, Armenian media reported.

Assessing efforts of the OSCE Minsk Group, which includes the United States, Russia and France -- the countries brokering peace talks, Charles Lonsdale admitted that during his four-year tenure in Armenia, progress in Karabakh settlement has been below expectations.

"Naturally, we now want to see a peace accord signed, but this is primarily up to the leaders of the countries in conflict," the ambassador was quoted as saying.

Lonsdale noted that establishing peace and stability in the South Caucasus region is a priority in Britain’s foreign policy.

According to him, though Britain is not involved in the Karabakh settlement process, it focuses on arranging dialog between the Azerbaijani and Armenian communities.

"We are more interested in programs and projects directed at forging ties between these communities, which could help to overcome and dispel existing stereotypes. It is particularly important to establish contacts and relations between youths," Lonsdale said.

The Karabakh conflict emerged during the last few years of the Soviet Union. 20 percent of Azerbaijan’s territory, including the Nagorno Karabakh region, has been under Armenian occupation since the two South Caucasus republics signed a precarious cease-fire in 1994 following a brutal war. Efforts by the Minsk Group have been largely fruitless so far.

Peace talks are underway on the basis of the Madrid principles, a peace outline proposed by the mediators. The Madrid Document covers a return of the Armenia-occupied territories surrounding Nagorno Karabakh to Azerbaijani control, a future determination of the region’s legal status and the right of internally displaced persons and refugees to return to their homes.