InternationalSides have not accepted the mediators’ proposal for Karabakh, Armenia’s foreign minister says
Nalbandian says territories were not even discussed in Moscow summit
Published: Friday July 24, 2009
Armenia's President Serge Sargsian, left, with Russia's President Dmitry Medvedev, center, and Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev, Moscow, July 18, 2009. Presidential Press Service
Armenia's Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian with his Swedish counterpart Carl Bildt, Yerevan, July 20, 2009. Melik Baghdasarian / Photolure
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Yerevan - Meetings in Moscow on July 17 and 18 between Armenia's President Serge Sargsian and his Azerbaijani counterpart did not result in a breakthrough in the Nagorno-Karabakh peace process. But on July 20, at a meeting in Yerevan with a delegation of the European Union Troika led by Sweden's Minister of Foreign Affairs Carl Bildt, Mr. Sargsian said, "despite the difficulties there is some progress" in the Karabakh talks.
Mr. Sargsian said the discussions in Moscow were somewhat different from past talks because the mediators had made public the core elements of the proposal around which the parties are negotiating.
"Unfortunately, the parties do not always present to the public the exact issues discussed during the negotiations. After the Moscow meeting, the agenda and the essence of the negotiations have been presented in the neighboring country in a different light," said Mr. Sargsian, referring to an announcement by Azerbaijan's foreign minister.
"As you know, right now we are discussing the main principles separate from the Madrid Document. After that we will discuss the remaining principles, and later, based on all this, we will draft the main agreement. I believe everybody knows by now that the main issue is the status of Nagorno-Karabakh, which must be decided through free will, and the adopted decision must be legally binding. After we have put together this issue in a proper and unequivocal way, I think the negotiations will go on much smoother," the president said.
Updated Madrid Document
On July 10, the heads of the three states co-chairing the OSCE Minsk Group, which mediates in the Karabakh conflict - President Barack Obama of the United States, Dmitry Medvedev of Russia, and Nikolas Sarkozy of France - urged Armenia and Azerbaijan to settle the longstanding Karabakh conflict.
"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," the joint statement read.
On the same day, the State Department posted some of the basic principles in the updated Madrid Document on its website.
Only "a basis for negotiations"
Armenian officials are avoiding the term, "updated Madrid Document," and are sticking to "Madrid Document," although the document under negotiation is not the same as the one presented to Armenia and Azerbaijan in November 2007 in the Spanish capital. (For a review of the negotiation process, and a helpful chart, click here.)
Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian, in a joint news conference with his Swedish counterpart in Yerevan on July 20, said, "Armenia has not agreed to the Madrid Document."
He added, "We have only said that the Madrid Document is a basis for negotiations."
In Moscow for a horserace sponsored by the president of Russia, President Sargsian and President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan on July 17 started their summit in the presence of their foreign ministers and the Minsk Group co-chairs. The presidents then had a one-on-one meeting, after which the foreign minister and co-chairs rejoined them. On the following day, July 18, the two presidents were joined in their discussions by their host, President Medvedev.
An aide to the Russian head of state characterized the meetings as "lengthy and very constructive."
Differing assessments
The statements of the co-chairs, however, give no serious grounds for optimism about rapid progress. Yuri Merzlyakov, the Russian co-chair, told Armenian and Azerbaijani reporters on July 17, after the first day of talks, "Unfortunately, we cannot boast of successes." But, he added, "the positions of the sides have come discernibly closer, and the examination of new questions has begun."
Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Matt Bryza, the U.S. co-chair, went further and said, "I am somewhat disappointed that new decisions were not made." Bernard Fassier, the French co-chair, said there was no progress in Moscow, but there were no steps back either.
Back in Baku, Azerbaijan's Foreign Minister Elmar Mamedyarov stated that in Moscow "definite progress" was made and "Armenian forces must be withdrawn from the occupied territories, after which the issue of the return of the refugees will be raised."
Armenia's foreign minister summarily dismissed his Azerbaijani counterpart's allegation. Speaking of the issues of territories and refugees, Mr. Nalbandian said, "In the Moscow meeting that issue was not even discussed."
Concern in Karabakh
On the eve of the Moscow summit, the government and civic organizations in Nagorno-Karabakh made an unusual number of announcements raising concerns about their exclusion from the settlement process and the general state of negotiations.
President Bako Sahakian on July 10 stated, "Our position is clear and it has remained unchanged. The independence of NKR is an established fact and is not subject to review."
