Nalbandian: Yerevan accepted Madrid Principles long before Azerbaijan

March 18, 2010 - 14:56 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - "Azerbaijan had been rejecting Madrid Principles for a long time. Then it claimed to accept them with "some restrictions". However, restrictions exceeded the number of clauses Azerbaijan agreed to," Edward Nalbandian said during a joint news conference with his Slovak counterpart Miroslav Lajcak.

"Yerevan and Baku periodically make working proposals on the revised Madrid Principles," he added.

As to the recent meeting with the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs in Paris, Minister Nalbandian said it was constructive.

Mr. Lajcak stated for his part that the European Union closely watches the Karabakh talks. "The EU supports resolution of the conflict on the basis of Madrid Principles but doesn't intend to directly engage in the negotiation process," he said.

The conflict between Nagorno Karabakh and Azerbaijan

The conflict between Nagorno Karabakh and Azerbaijan broke out as result of the ethnic cleansing launched by the Azeri authorities in the final years of the Soviet Union. The Karabakh War was fought from 1991 (when the Nagorno Karabakh Republic was proclaimed) to 1994 (when a ceasefire was sealed by Armenia, NKR and Azerbaijan). Most of Nagorno Karabakh and a security zone consisting of 7 regions are now under control of NKR defense army. Armenia and Azerbaijan are holding peace talks mediated by the OSCE Minsk Group up till now.

The OSCE Minsk Group

The OSCE Minsk Group was created in 1992 to encourage a peaceful, negotiated resolution to the Nagorno Karabakh conflict. The Minsk Group is headed by a Co-Chairmanship consisting of France, Russia and the United States. The main objectives of the Minsk Process are as follows: Providing an appropriate framework for conflict resolution in the way of assuring the negotiation process supported by the Minsk Group; Obtaining conclusion by the Parties of an agreement on the cessation of the armed conflict in order to permit the convening of the Minsk Conference; Promoting the peace process by deploying OSCE multinational peacekeeping forces.