Last five paragraphs were added (first version was posted at 15:30
France , Strasbourg, June 22 / Trend, A. Maharramli /
The Armenian president is ready for constructive negotiations at the Kazan summit.
"I am going to Kazan in a good mood and with willingness for constructive negotiations," Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan told journalists in Strasbourg on Wednesday.
He said the sides' positions are known, and sound conditions have been created for the sides to voice their final positions on the basic principles.
A trilateral meeting between the Azerbaijani, Armenian and Russia presidents will be held in Kazan on June 24.
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 seven 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 peace negotiations.
Armenia has not yet implemented the U.N. Security Council's four resolutions on the liberation of Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding regions.
"I can not be completely sure that one hundred percent result will be achieved at the next meeting in Kazan. The clear thing is that the OSCE Minsk Group is a good format for conflict resolution. I will go to Kazan meeting with optimism. Resolution of the conflict must be fair in order to achieve lasting peace. We have been long working on the documents that will be discussed during the Kazan meeting. Many meetings have been conducted in this regard. The documents do not fully reflect the desire of the Armenian side, but provide an opportunity to advance these negotiations and sign an overall peace agreement," Armenian president said.
The Armenian president said that a peaceful solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is an important issue for his country.
"Peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict remains an important issue for us. These negotiations are being conducted within the OSCE Minsk Group," said Sargsyan.
Touching upon the Turkish-Armenian relations in his speech, Sargsyan said that the process of normalizing relations between the two countries began two years ago and protocols were signed.
"The process of normalizing relations between the two countries began two years ago and protocols were signed. Currently there are no progresses in these relations. They got into a deadlock. Turkey has not yet recognized the "genocide" of Armenians. The position taken by Turkey at this stage makes it impossible to ratify protocols," said Sargsyan.