RA MFA: Madrid Principles were adopted by Armenia as basis for talks two years agoMarch 29, 2010 - 21:29 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Armenian Minister of Foreign Affairs Edward Nalbandian met Monday with the Co-chairs of OSCE Minsk Group, Ambassadors Yuri Merzlyakov (Russia), Bernard Fassier (France) and Robert Bradtke (U.S.). The meeting was attended by a Personal Representative of the Chairman-in-Office Ambassador Andrzej Kasprzyk. At the beginning of the meeting the Foreign Minister of Armenia expressed condolences to the Russian mediator in connection with the explosions in the Moscow metro. The officials discussed latest developments in Karabakh talks and the possibility of rapprochement of the conflicting parties on the basis of Madrid Principles. The Co-chairs briefed the Armenian Minister on the outcomes of meetings in Nagorno Karabakh. With regard to increased recent speculation on the Madrid principles, Edward Nalbandian said that these were adopted by Armenia as a basis for negotiations two years ago, RA MFA press office reported. 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. Top stories Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan took to social media to thank his Lithuanian counterpart for the contribution. President of the Armenian parliament Alen Simonyan met with the Speaker of the Azerbaijani Milli Majlis Sahiba Gafarova. Achieving stable peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan remains a priority of the OSCE, said Ian Borg. The Cabinet of Ministers decided on Thursday, November 9 to allocated AMD 120 million to arrange the gathering. Partner news | Aliyev travels to Turkey at Erdogan's invitation On June 10, Azerbaijani President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev will leave for Turkey on a working visit. CSTO budget “to be adjusted due to Yerevan’s non-payment of contributions” The CSTO budget for the current year requires adjustments due to the refusal of Yerevan to pay their share of contributions. Russia sends note of protest to Armenia over envoy’s trip to Ukraine’s Bucha Russia has sent a note of protest to Armenia over the visit of Vladimir Karapetyan and Tigran Ter-Margaryan to Bucha. Armenia: Protesters march to parliament, some spend the night on street The protesters did not disperse despite heavy rain that began at around 2 a.m. local time. |