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ARMENIAN FM UNEXPECTEDLY VISITS OCCUPIED AZERI REGION, Karabakh
AssA-Irada
July 16, 2009 Thursday
Azerbaijan
Armenian Foreign Minister Eduard Nalbandian has unexpectedly visited
the occupied Upper (Nagorno) Garabagh region of Azerbaijan. Armenian
media reported that the visit is linked to the recent statement by
the countries co-chairing the OSCE Minsk Group mediating the peace
process on the Madrid principles of the conflict resolution. In a
joint statement passed at a recent G8 summit in Italy, released by
the US State Department, US President Barack Obama, France's Nicolas
Sarkozy and Russia's Dmitry Medvedev called on Armenian and Azerbaijani
leaders to resolve their differences and move towards a final accord
on the long-standing Upper Garabagh conflict.
They urged Presidents Ilham Aliyev and Serzh Sarkisian to resolve
the few differences remaining between them and finalize their
agreement. "We are instructing our mediators to present to the
presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan an updated version of a proposed
peace outline brought forward in the Madrid Document of November
2007." Analysts say it is not accidental that Nalbandians visit takes
place on the eve of the next round of talks on Garabagh settlement to
be held by Presidents Aliyev and Sarkisian in Moscow on Friday. They
believe Yerevan is seeking to coordinate its position with the
leadership of the self-proclaimed Upper Garabagh republic. Among the
principles called for in the Madrid Document were "the return of the
territories surrounding Upper Garabagh to Azerbaijani control and an
interim status for Upper Garabagh providing guarantees for security
and self-government." It also embraced "a corridor linking Armenia
to Upper Garabagh" as well as a future determination of the final
legal status of Upper Garabagh "through a legally binding expression
of will" and the right of "internally displaced persons and refugees
to return to their former places of residence." The conflict between
the two South Caucasus republics reared up in the late 1980s due
to Armenias territorial claims. Armenia has been occupying over 20%
of Azerbaijans internationally-recognized territory since the early
1990s in defiance of international law. The ceasefire accord was
signed in May 1994, but over a decade of efforts by US, Russian and
French mediators have been, so far, fruitless.
AssA-Irada
July 16, 2009 Thursday
Azerbaijan
Armenian Foreign Minister Eduard Nalbandian has unexpectedly visited
the occupied Upper (Nagorno) Garabagh region of Azerbaijan. Armenian
media reported that the visit is linked to the recent statement by
the countries co-chairing the OSCE Minsk Group mediating the peace
process on the Madrid principles of the conflict resolution. In a
joint statement passed at a recent G8 summit in Italy, released by
the US State Department, US President Barack Obama, France's Nicolas
Sarkozy and Russia's Dmitry Medvedev called on Armenian and Azerbaijani
leaders to resolve their differences and move towards a final accord
on the long-standing Upper Garabagh conflict.
They urged Presidents Ilham Aliyev and Serzh Sarkisian to resolve
the few differences remaining between them and finalize their
agreement. "We are instructing our mediators to present to the
presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan an updated version of a proposed
peace outline brought forward in the Madrid Document of November
2007." Analysts say it is not accidental that Nalbandians visit takes
place on the eve of the next round of talks on Garabagh settlement to
be held by Presidents Aliyev and Sarkisian in Moscow on Friday. They
believe Yerevan is seeking to coordinate its position with the
leadership of the self-proclaimed Upper Garabagh republic. Among the
principles called for in the Madrid Document were "the return of the
territories surrounding Upper Garabagh to Azerbaijani control and an
interim status for Upper Garabagh providing guarantees for security
and self-government." It also embraced "a corridor linking Armenia
to Upper Garabagh" as well as a future determination of the final
legal status of Upper Garabagh "through a legally binding expression
of will" and the right of "internally displaced persons and refugees
to return to their former places of residence." The conflict between
the two South Caucasus republics reared up in the late 1980s due
to Armenias territorial claims. Armenia has been occupying over 20%
of Azerbaijans internationally-recognized territory since the early
1990s in defiance of international law. The ceasefire accord was
signed in May 1994, but over a decade of efforts by US, Russian and
French mediators have been, so far, fruitless.