Baku "Doesn't Rule Out Karabakh Having Constitution"

PanARMENIAN.Net - "Azerbaijan adheres to the peaceful settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict, however we should understand that 20% of territories are seized and sooner or later we will do the utmost to return them," Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov told reporters on May 25. He remarked that the OSCE MG Co-chairs comprehended Azerbaijan's position and voiced hope that this position will be spelled out to Yerevan.



"The matter concerns not new proposals but new ideas of the OSCE Minsk Group. Azerbaijan can agree with some of them and disagree with the others. However diplomacy implies the method of compromises and we are awaiting the outcomes of the Yerevan talks," Elmar Mammadyarov said.



He also noted that Nagorno Karabakh "is a constituent of Azerbaijan and any variant of the conflict settlement should proceed from the postulates of the Azeri Constitution. At that he did not rule out that Karabakh may have its Constitution. "Nakhichevan autonomous republic, Tatarstan and Bashkortostan have their Constitution, for example," he said.



In his words, Montenegro's secession from Serbia is a not precedent for the Nagorno Karabakh conflict. "We understand that Karabakh's status should be determined sooner or later, but not Armenians should do it. First, Azeris should return to their homes and then the issue will be put on the agenda," Mammadyarov said. The Azeri FM advised not to hurry with conclusions on the outcomes of the OSCE Minsk Group's visit and wait for a formal statement.