Azerbaijan, Baku / Тrend corr E. Huseynli / The head of the Azerbaijani Community of Nagorno-Karabakh considers it possible to divulge the details of new written suggestions made by the OSCE Minsk Group. "Keeping in secret the set of written proposals on settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict which was submitted by the OSCE Minsk Group's co-chairs in Madrid will negatively affect settlement of the conflict," the head of the Azerbaijani Community of Nagorno-Karabakh Nizami Bahmanov said to Trend on 29 November.
On 29 November, the OSCE Minsk Group's co-chairs submitted written suggestions (10 suggestions) on settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict to Azerbaijan and Armenia. The document was submitted by US Chair of the OSCE Minks Group Matthew Bryza, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, and the US Assistant Secretary of State for International Affairs Nicolas Bern at the meeting between the Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov and the Armenian Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanian in Madrid on 29 November.
According to Bahmanov, in case Armenia does not renounce its non-constructive position, even written suggestions will not be able to affect settlement of the conflict. If the written suggestions indicate importance of settlement of the conflict within the framework of Azerbaijan's territorial integrity and on the basis of international legal norms, so they may be only welcomed. If no requirements are made for Armenia, the official Yerevan will not abandon its non-constructive position.
The conflict between the two countries of the South Caucasus began in 1988 due to Armenian territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Since 1992, Armenian Armed Forces have occupied 20% of Azerbaijan including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and its seven surrounding districts. In 1994, Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement at which time the active hostilities ended. The Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group ( Russia, France, and the US) are currently holding peaceful negotiations.