Azerbaijan, Baku, March 18 / Trend , S. Agayeva /
In order to solve the most important problem on the negotiating table it is necessary to withdraw Armenian troops from occupied Azerbaijani territories and return of IDPs there, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov said at a joint press conference with Romanian Foreign Minister Teodor Baconsky.
He said Baku hasn't received information from the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs on Yerevan's position regarding the updated variant of Madrid principles, offered to Armenia by the co-chairs.
"Azerbaijan's position is that if Armenia will accept the updated Madrid principles, then it will create an opportunity to continue works on a large peace agreement," Mammadyarov said.
Commenting on Edward Nalbandian's statement on the necessity of joining the negotiation process of the Armenian community of Nagorno-Karabakh, Mammadyarov said that there are relevant decisions of the OSCE to hold negotiations between Azerbaijan and Armenia, and in the current stage, the Armenian community of Nagorno-Karabakh can not join this process.
Regarding the solving the status of Nagorno-Karabakh, the minister said, this is possible only after the return of the Azerbaijani community there. "The status of the Nagorno Karabakh will be resolved through negotiations," the minister said.
According to Mammadyarov, holding a referendum in Nagorno-Karabakh is considered illegal, as under the Azerbaijani Constitution any referendum in the country must cover the entire territory of the country, not just its one part.
The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Armenian armed forces have occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan since 1992, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and 7 surrounding districts. Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994.The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group - Russia, France, and the U.S. - are currently holding the peace negotiations.
Armenia has not yet implemented the U.N. Security Council's four resolutions on the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh region and the occupied territories.
