Azerbaijan, Baku, May 14 / Trend, S.Agayeva /
Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov negatively assesses the fact that so far Armenia has not expressed any position on the updated Madrid principles offered to the sides by the OSCE Minsk Group in January.
"This document is the result of the group's work with the sides of the conflict," Mammadyarov said to journalists at a press conference in Baku.
At a meeting between Azerbaijani and Armenian presidents Ilham Aliyev and Serzh Sargsyan in January in Sochi, the OSCE Minsk Group presented the parties with an updated version of the Madrid document, which is the basis for negotiations.
Official Baku, adopting the Madrid principles, has not yet received information from the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairmen on Yerevan's position on the principles.
According to Mammadyarov, unlike Armenia, Azerbaijan accepts the document and is ready to continue to work toward a long-term peace agreement based on the principles.
"Unfortunately, it is already May, and Armenia has not yet expressed its position on the updated document," the minister said.
Recently, Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian met with the OSCE Minsk group co-chairmen in Brussels.
"I think that the results of this meeting will be voiced by the co-chairs during the upcoming talks in Venice," Mammadyarov added.
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 United States - are currently holding the peace negotiations.
Armenia has not yet implemented the U.N. Security Council's resolutions on the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh region and the occupied territories.
Do you have any feedback? Contact our journalist at: [email protected]