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RECRIMINATIONS FOLLOW CALL FOR KARABAKH PEACE
news.az
May 27 2011
Azerbaijan
Senior Azerbaijani officials have accused Armenia of delaying a peace
deal on the Karabakh conflict in response to a similar accusation
from Armenia.
The mutual recriminations come less than 24 hours after the US,
French and Russian presidents issued a statement, calling on the
Armenian and Azerbaijani presidents to make progress on a peace deal
and "to prepare their populations for peace, not war".
Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian responded to the three
presidents' statement by saying that Armenia had always been committed
to peace and that the call for progress on a peace deal was, therefore,
addressed to Azerbaijan.
"The Armenian side has once again shown its hypocrisy and is trying
to confuse the international community," Novruz Mammadov, head of the
international relations department at the Azerbaijani Presidential
Administration, told 1news.az, commenting on Nalbandian's response.
"I want to say that the Deauville statement, issued by the presidents
of the USA, France and Russia, directly addressed the Armenian
authorities. However, the Armenian foreign minister, Edward Nalbandian,
is again trying to mislead the world community, but it is useless
because everyone knows that Armenia has occupied Azerbaijani lands
and is now seeking to maintain this situation," Mammadov said.
"We welcome and support the joint statement... The concern of
Presidents Barack Obama, Nicolas Sarkozy and Dmitriy Medvedev over the
unresolved Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is understandable. The presidents
stressed the need for an early peaceful settlement to the conflict. We
are pleased with this," Mammadov said.
Moving to the thorny issue of the Basic Principles for a peace
settlement, also known as the Madrid principles, which the OSCE Minsk
Group would like to see adopted by both sides, Mammadov said that it
is Armenia that has failed to accept the principles.
"The point is that the negotiating process has been delayed by the
Armenian side so far. The reason is that though the Armenian side
expressed a positive attitude to the Madrid principles in 2009,
later it changed its mind which caused a delay in negotiations and
loss of time.
"We assess the subsequent desire of the co-chairs to continue
negotiations, to draft an updated version of the Madrid Principles
and the report by the OSCE Field Assessment Mission on the occupied
territories of Azerbaijan, which confirmed the need to change the
status quo in the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict as important steps
towards resolving the conflict," the presidential official added.
Status quo cannot continue
"Our demand is that the status quo cannot continue and it is important
to change it, which requires the release from occupation of seven
Azerbaijani districts as a first step. Everyone who was expelled as
a result of the conflict should go back and settle down. Then, these
lands must be cleared of mines, rehabilitated and provided with new
infrastructure. All this is the first step in resolving the conflict,"
Mammadov said, in effect outlining most of the Basic Principles.
"This may be followed by other stages in the settlement with issues
related to an expression of will resolved at the end. Now, after the
Deauville statement by the presidents, the Armenian side should not
look for excuses to delay the negotiating process further and should
support the principles put forward by the presidents of the three
co-chairing countries and strongly supported by President Dmitry
Medvedev.
"It would be nice if the Armenian side dealt with these issues instead
of making provocative statements. This is the message of Azerbaijan
to Armenia prior to the upcoming June meeting of presidents Dmitry
Medvedev, Ilham Aliyev and Serzh Sargsyan in Kazan," Mammandov said,
referring to the Russian president's mediation of the next meeting
of the Armenian and Azerbaijani leaders in Kazan on 26 June.
Foreign Ministry
The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry described the Deauville statement
of the US, Russian and French presidents as an open letter to Armenia
on the need to withdraw its troops from Azerbaijani territory.
"The Armenian side should understand that the international community
will not accept the occupation of the Azerbaijani territories by
Armenia. Armenia must withdraw its armed forces from the territory of
Azerbaijan according to the logic of this statement. This will allow
the return of the internally displaced persons to their homeland,
the restoration of communications and establishment of a more certain
situation in the region," Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry spokesman
Elman Abdullayev told Interfax-Azerbaijan.
He accused Armenia of dragging its feet on a Karabakh settlement,
echoing Novruz Mammadov.
"Azerbaijan's position is unchanged and the withdrawal of the Armenian
armed forces and return of the IDPs will create the opportunity to take
the next step towards the creation of favourable conditions in the
region. It will help the coexistence of the Armenian and Azerbaijani
communities in Nagorno Karabakh and the determination of the status
of this region within Azerbaijan. Armenia is using different ways to
delay the withdrawal of its troops from the territories of Azerbaijan
and is preventing a peaceful solution to the conflict."
Background
The conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh began in 1988 when Armenia
made claims on Azerbaijani territory. Armenian armed forces have
occupied a swathe of Azerbaijani territory since 1992, including the
Nagorno-Karabakh region, and seven surrounding districts.
The nub of the conflict remains unresolved - the competing claims of
territorial integrity, which Azerbaijan insists takes precedence in
the case of Karabakh, and self-determination, which Armenia wants to
see for the Armenians of Karabakh.
From: A. Papazian
news.az
May 27 2011
Azerbaijan
Senior Azerbaijani officials have accused Armenia of delaying a peace
deal on the Karabakh conflict in response to a similar accusation
from Armenia.
The mutual recriminations come less than 24 hours after the US,
French and Russian presidents issued a statement, calling on the
Armenian and Azerbaijani presidents to make progress on a peace deal
and "to prepare their populations for peace, not war".
Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian responded to the three
presidents' statement by saying that Armenia had always been committed
to peace and that the call for progress on a peace deal was, therefore,
addressed to Azerbaijan.
"The Armenian side has once again shown its hypocrisy and is trying
to confuse the international community," Novruz Mammadov, head of the
international relations department at the Azerbaijani Presidential
Administration, told 1news.az, commenting on Nalbandian's response.
"I want to say that the Deauville statement, issued by the presidents
of the USA, France and Russia, directly addressed the Armenian
authorities. However, the Armenian foreign minister, Edward Nalbandian,
is again trying to mislead the world community, but it is useless
because everyone knows that Armenia has occupied Azerbaijani lands
and is now seeking to maintain this situation," Mammadov said.
"We welcome and support the joint statement... The concern of
Presidents Barack Obama, Nicolas Sarkozy and Dmitriy Medvedev over the
unresolved Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is understandable. The presidents
stressed the need for an early peaceful settlement to the conflict. We
are pleased with this," Mammadov said.
Moving to the thorny issue of the Basic Principles for a peace
settlement, also known as the Madrid principles, which the OSCE Minsk
Group would like to see adopted by both sides, Mammadov said that it
is Armenia that has failed to accept the principles.
"The point is that the negotiating process has been delayed by the
Armenian side so far. The reason is that though the Armenian side
expressed a positive attitude to the Madrid principles in 2009,
later it changed its mind which caused a delay in negotiations and
loss of time.
"We assess the subsequent desire of the co-chairs to continue
negotiations, to draft an updated version of the Madrid Principles
and the report by the OSCE Field Assessment Mission on the occupied
territories of Azerbaijan, which confirmed the need to change the
status quo in the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict as important steps
towards resolving the conflict," the presidential official added.
Status quo cannot continue
"Our demand is that the status quo cannot continue and it is important
to change it, which requires the release from occupation of seven
Azerbaijani districts as a first step. Everyone who was expelled as
a result of the conflict should go back and settle down. Then, these
lands must be cleared of mines, rehabilitated and provided with new
infrastructure. All this is the first step in resolving the conflict,"
Mammadov said, in effect outlining most of the Basic Principles.
"This may be followed by other stages in the settlement with issues
related to an expression of will resolved at the end. Now, after the
Deauville statement by the presidents, the Armenian side should not
look for excuses to delay the negotiating process further and should
support the principles put forward by the presidents of the three
co-chairing countries and strongly supported by President Dmitry
Medvedev.
"It would be nice if the Armenian side dealt with these issues instead
of making provocative statements. This is the message of Azerbaijan
to Armenia prior to the upcoming June meeting of presidents Dmitry
Medvedev, Ilham Aliyev and Serzh Sargsyan in Kazan," Mammandov said,
referring to the Russian president's mediation of the next meeting
of the Armenian and Azerbaijani leaders in Kazan on 26 June.
Foreign Ministry
The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry described the Deauville statement
of the US, Russian and French presidents as an open letter to Armenia
on the need to withdraw its troops from Azerbaijani territory.
"The Armenian side should understand that the international community
will not accept the occupation of the Azerbaijani territories by
Armenia. Armenia must withdraw its armed forces from the territory of
Azerbaijan according to the logic of this statement. This will allow
the return of the internally displaced persons to their homeland,
the restoration of communications and establishment of a more certain
situation in the region," Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry spokesman
Elman Abdullayev told Interfax-Azerbaijan.
He accused Armenia of dragging its feet on a Karabakh settlement,
echoing Novruz Mammadov.
"Azerbaijan's position is unchanged and the withdrawal of the Armenian
armed forces and return of the IDPs will create the opportunity to take
the next step towards the creation of favourable conditions in the
region. It will help the coexistence of the Armenian and Azerbaijani
communities in Nagorno Karabakh and the determination of the status
of this region within Azerbaijan. Armenia is using different ways to
delay the withdrawal of its troops from the territories of Azerbaijan
and is preventing a peaceful solution to the conflict."
Background
The conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh began in 1988 when Armenia
made claims on Azerbaijani territory. Armenian armed forces have
occupied a swathe of Azerbaijani territory since 1992, including the
Nagorno-Karabakh region, and seven surrounding districts.
The nub of the conflict remains unresolved - the competing claims of
territorial integrity, which Azerbaijan insists takes precedence in
the case of Karabakh, and self-determination, which Armenia wants to
see for the Armenians of Karabakh.
From: A. Papazian