DRAFTING OF PEACE TREATY FOR KARABAKH CONFLICT POSSIBLE ONLY AFTER RECONCILIATION OF BASICS PRINCIPLE- ARMENIAN FM SAYS
EREVAN, February 17. / ARKA /. Drafting of a peace treaty for the
resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is possible only after
reconciliation of the basic principles, Armenian Foreign Minister
Edward Nalbandian told Tuesday the visiting OSCE Minsk Group
co-chairmen Igor Popov (Russia), James Warlick (USA) and Pierre
Andre (France), as well as the personal representative of the OSCE
Chairman-in-Office Andrzej Kasprzyk.
"When all the basic conflict settlement principles are reconciled
and Nagorno-Karabakh also agrees to them then it will be possible to
begin negotiations between Azerbaijan, Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia
for drafting a comprehensive peace agreement,' Nalbandian was quoted
as saying by the foreign ministry's press office.
Nalbandian drew the attention of the co-chairs to the fact that even
after their statement made on January 27, as well as the statements
made by the OSCE president and the mediators on February 7 Azerbaijan
continues to violate the ceasefire together with provocations and
unacceptable rhetoric, criticized earlier by the co-chairs.
Armenian foreign minister said Azerbaijani leadership actually seeks
to reverse the progress made in the negotiation process over the
years. According to him, Baku is trying to take advantage of the
unresolved conflict which is to blame only on itself to justify
trampling of human rights in the country and pressurize its opponents.
On Azerbaijan's attempts to portray two Azerbaijani commandoes
sentenced by a court in Nagorno-Karabakh to lengthy prison terms as
"innocent lambs gone astray," Nalbandian said these steps are not
effective.
In late December 2014 a court in Stepanakert, sentenced two citizens of
Azerbaijan - Shahbaz Guliyev and Dilhamu Askerov - who were accused
of sabotage and murder - to 22 years in prison and life in prison
respectively.
"Their crimes are documented and proven. They were accused of
committing a kidnapping, torture and brutal murder of a 17-year-old
boy," said Nalbandian.
The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict erupted into armed clashes after the
collapse of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s as the predominantly
Armenian-populated enclave of Azerbaijan sought to secede from
Azerbaijan and declared its independence backed by succeeding
referendum. A truce was brokered by Russia in 1994, although no
permanent peace agreement has been signed.
Since then, Nagorno-Karabakh and several adjacent regions have been
under the control of Armenian forces of Karabakh. Nagorno-Karabakh
is the longest-running post-Soviet era conflict and has continued
to simmer despite the relative peace of the past two decades, with
snipers causing tens of deaths a year. - 0-
http://arka.am/en/news/politics/drafting_of_peace_treaty_for_karabakh_conflict_pos sible_only_after_reconciliation_of_basics_principl/#sthash.uqnU93Y8.dpuf
EREVAN, February 17. / ARKA /. Drafting of a peace treaty for the
resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is possible only after
reconciliation of the basic principles, Armenian Foreign Minister
Edward Nalbandian told Tuesday the visiting OSCE Minsk Group
co-chairmen Igor Popov (Russia), James Warlick (USA) and Pierre
Andre (France), as well as the personal representative of the OSCE
Chairman-in-Office Andrzej Kasprzyk.
"When all the basic conflict settlement principles are reconciled
and Nagorno-Karabakh also agrees to them then it will be possible to
begin negotiations between Azerbaijan, Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia
for drafting a comprehensive peace agreement,' Nalbandian was quoted
as saying by the foreign ministry's press office.
Nalbandian drew the attention of the co-chairs to the fact that even
after their statement made on January 27, as well as the statements
made by the OSCE president and the mediators on February 7 Azerbaijan
continues to violate the ceasefire together with provocations and
unacceptable rhetoric, criticized earlier by the co-chairs.
Armenian foreign minister said Azerbaijani leadership actually seeks
to reverse the progress made in the negotiation process over the
years. According to him, Baku is trying to take advantage of the
unresolved conflict which is to blame only on itself to justify
trampling of human rights in the country and pressurize its opponents.
On Azerbaijan's attempts to portray two Azerbaijani commandoes
sentenced by a court in Nagorno-Karabakh to lengthy prison terms as
"innocent lambs gone astray," Nalbandian said these steps are not
effective.
In late December 2014 a court in Stepanakert, sentenced two citizens of
Azerbaijan - Shahbaz Guliyev and Dilhamu Askerov - who were accused
of sabotage and murder - to 22 years in prison and life in prison
respectively.
"Their crimes are documented and proven. They were accused of
committing a kidnapping, torture and brutal murder of a 17-year-old
boy," said Nalbandian.
The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict erupted into armed clashes after the
collapse of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s as the predominantly
Armenian-populated enclave of Azerbaijan sought to secede from
Azerbaijan and declared its independence backed by succeeding
referendum. A truce was brokered by Russia in 1994, although no
permanent peace agreement has been signed.
Since then, Nagorno-Karabakh and several adjacent regions have been
under the control of Armenian forces of Karabakh. Nagorno-Karabakh
is the longest-running post-Soviet era conflict and has continued
to simmer despite the relative peace of the past two decades, with
snipers causing tens of deaths a year. - 0-
http://arka.am/en/news/politics/drafting_of_peace_treaty_for_karabakh_conflict_pos sible_only_after_reconciliation_of_basics_principl/#sthash.uqnU93Y8.dpuf