Azerbaijani, Armenian FMs affirm support for peace talks
By Sara Rajabova
The foreign ministers of Azerbaijan and Armenia have reiterated their support for a peaceful settlement of the long-standing Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and their determination to continue peace negotiations, the OSCE mediators said in a statement issued in Paris on Monday after their joint meeting with the ministers.
Ministers Elmar Mammadyarov and Edward Nalbandian and the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs - Igor Popov of Russia, Jacques Faure of France and Ian Kelly of the United States - agreed to a further discussion of the peace process in the coming weeks, according to the OSCE website.
The ministers and the co-chairs stressed the importance of the Minsk Group as the framework for negotiating a settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
The co-chairs continued discussions with the ministers on the working proposal to advance the peace process, which they submitted to the sides in October 2012. They also exchanged views on possible confidence building measures.
The mediators referred to their statements of April 14, 2011 and July 13, 2012, and discussed with the ministers issues pertaining to civilian flights to and from the airport in Nagorno-Karabakh -- an Azerbaijani region under Armenian occupation.
In these statements the co-chairs expressed their concern that the planned opening of an airport in Nagorno-Karabakh could lead to further increased tensions. They cautioned that the operation of flights to and from this airport could not be used to support any claim of a change in the current status of Nagorno-Karabakh under international law. The co-chairs urged the sides to reach an understanding in keeping with international conventions and agreements, as well as current practice between Armenia and Azerbaijan for flights over their territory.
The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict emerged in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. The two countries 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.
The UN Security Council has adopted four resolutions on Armenia's withdrawal from the Azerbaijani territory, but the Armenians have not followed them to this day.
Peace negotiations are underway on the basis of a peace outline proposed by the OSCE Minsk Group's co-chairs and dubbed the Madrid Principles, also known as Basic Principles. The document envisions a 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 to return home.