InternationalPresidents of United States, Russia, and France issue Karabakh statement
Published: Friday July 10, 2009
French President Nicolas Sarkozy, left, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, center, and U.S. President Barack Obama clap after a commemoration ceremony at the G8 summit in L'Aquila, Italy on Friday, July 10, 2009. AP Photo: Michel Euler
The following statement was released at the L'Aquila Summit of the Group of Eight on July 10 by Presidents Barack Obama, Dmitry Medvedev, and Nicolas Sarkozy.
The statement calls on Armenia and Azerbaijan – excluding any mention of Nagorno-Karabakh itself – to endorse a version the Basic Principles around which the parties have been negotiating. In this version, no special mention is made of Kelbajar, the return of which was to be linked to the determination of the status of Karabakh. [See a brief history of the negotiations with an informative table.]
The pressure on Armenia and Azerbaijan to make progress is being linked to an effort to save Armenia-Turkey negotiations, which have stalled with Turkey's renewed insistence on a resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict favorable to Azerbaijan.
We, the Presidents of the OSCE Minsk Group's Co-Chair countries France, the Russian Federation, and the United States of America, affirm our commitment to support the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan as they finalize the Basic Principles for settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
We are instructing our mediators to present to the Presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan an updated version of the Madrid Document of November 2007, the Co-Chairs' last articulation of the Basic Principles. We urge the Presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan to resolve the few differences remaining between them and finalize their agreement on these Basic Principles, which will outline a comprehensive settlement.
Fact sheet
The ministers of the U.S., France, and Russia presented a preliminary version of the Basic Principles for a settlement to Armenia and Azerbaijan in November 2007 in Madrid.
The Basic Principles reflect a reasonable compromise based on the Helsinki Final Act principles of Non-Use of Force, Territorial Integrity, and the Equal Rights and Self-Determination of Peoples.
The Basic Principles call for inter alia:
• return of the territories surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh to Azerbaijani control;
• an interim status for Nagorno-Karabakh providing guarantees for security and self-governance;
• a corridor linking Armenia to Nagorno-Karabakh;
• future determination of the final legal status of Nagorno-Karabakh through a legally binding expression of will;
• the right of all internally displaced persons and refugees to return to their former places of residence; and
• international security guarantees that would include a peacekeeping operation.
The endorsement of these Basic Principles by Armenia and Azerbaijan will allow the drafting of a comprehensive settlement to ensure a future of peace, stability, and prosperity for Armenia and Azerbaijan and the broader region.
