Azerbaijan, Lankaran, May 31 / Trend P.Aliyeva /
U.S. ambassador to Azerbaijan Matthew Bryza believes the time has come to agree on the basic principles of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict resolution.
"The Deauville statement of Presidents Barack Obama of the U.S., Dimitry Medvedev of Russia and Nicolas Sarkozy of France is correct statement with a view to establish a stability in the region. The time has come to agree on the basic principles of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict resolution," Bryza told journalists in Lankaran today.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, U.S President Barack Obama and French President Nicolas Sarkozy called on the Armenian and Azerbaijani leaders to demonstrate the political will and to finalize the basic principles [the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh] during the upcoming Armenian-Azerbaijani summit in June.
"The further delay will put the desire of the parties to reach an agreement under question," a joint statement of the presidents of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairing countries said.
The Azerbaijani government thinks that Armenia must draw conclusions from the last statement of the Russian, U.S and French Presidents over the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
"Of course, we welcome the statement made by the presidents in Deauville, France during the G8 meeting," the head of the foreign relations department at the Presidential Administration Novruz Mammadov told Trend last week. "The presidents' concern over the unresolved conflict is clear and pleases. They stress the necessity of rapid settlement of the conflict through negotiations. We also attach great importance to this."
Bryza said the basic principles could be the basis of an agreement even if the final peace agreement lacks.
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 and the surrounding regions.