Azerbaijan, Baku /corr. Trend S.Agayeva / It is unacceptable for Azerbaijan to hold talks with the Armenian community of Nagorno-Karabakh without the participation of Armenia, said independent politician, former assistant of Azerbaijan President, Eldar Namazov, on 17 September commenting on the proposals of the Russian, Yuri Merzlyakov and French, Bernard Fassier, co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group regarding the necessity to bring together the heads of the Armenian and Azerbaijani communities of Nagorno-Karabakh to the talks on Nagorno-Karabakh settlement.
The Head of the Azerbaijani Community of Nagorno-Karabakh, Nizami Bahmanov, informed Trend on 17 September that within the visit of the co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group to Baku on 18 September, the issue will be discussed to organize a meeting of the heads of the Armenian and Azerbaijani communities of Nagorno-Karabakh to settle the conflict. Bernard Fassier said that it needs to change the format of talks and involve the heads of the Armenian and Azerbaijani communities of Nagorno-Karabakh to the talks.
Currently changing the format of talks does not meet the interests of Azerbaijan, Bahmanov said. According to him, Armenia tries to change the situation in its favor, stand away from the talks process and transform it into the format of Baku-Khankendi. "Thus, Armenia wants to avoid the responsibility and accusations that the Armenian armed forces have occupied Azerbaijani lands," he said.
The talks should take place between Azerbaijan and Armenia whose army has occupied Azerbaijani territories. Only after withdrawal of the Armenian armed forces from occupied Azerbaijani land and refusal from territorial claims, can we hold talks with the Armenian community of Nagorno-Karabakh within the Azerbaijani State, the politician said.
Azerbaijan does not protest against involvement of the Armenian community in the talks, but insists on the participation of the Azerbaijani community in the talks. Initially the talks process was attended by the two conflicting sides, Azerbaijan and Armenia and two interested sides, the Armenian and Azerbaijani communities of Nagorno-Karabakh. However, later the format of talks was changed and the process was attended by only Azerbaijan and Armenia.
Currently Armenia considers that the Armenian community of Nagorno-Karabakh should negotiate with not the Azerbaijani community of Nagorno-Karabakh, but the Government of Azerbaijan. "It means that the status of the Armenian community arises up to the level of independent state. Such a format is unacceptable for Azerbaijan," the politician said.
" Azerbaijan will accept talks with Armenian community of Nagorno-Karabakh if only Armenia recognizes the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan and stands away," said the Press Secretary of Azerbaijan's Foreign Ministry, Khazar Ibrahim, said on 17 September.
The conflict between two South Caucasus countries broke out in 1988 in face of Armenia's territorial claims to Azerbaijan. Since 1992, 20% of Azerbaijani territories (Nagorno-Karabakh and 7 nearby regions) have been under occupation by Armenian Armed Forces. In May, 1994 a ceasefire was signed between the sides. The talks under the auspices of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chaired by Russia, France, and the United States are still fruitless.