Armenian FM: there is nothing unacceptable in Azerbaijan's proposals to start peace talks
YEREVAN, March 23. /ARKA/. There is nothing unacceptable in Azerbaijan's proposals to start peace talks, Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan said today in parliament in response to MPs’ questions.
The principles of a peace agreement proposed by Azerbaijan include mutual recognition of sovereignty, territorial integrity, inviolability of each other's state borders; mutual political independence, mutual confirmation of the legal obligation of states not to present territorial claims to each other and not to present such claims in the future; to refrain from threats to each other's security in interstate relations, from threats to political independence and against territorial integrity, and from the use of force and steps inconsistent with the purposes of the UN Charter; demarcation of the Armenian-Azerbaijani border, establishment of diplomatic relations; opening of transport communications, establishment of other relevant communications; cooperation in areas of mutual interest.
"There is nothing unacceptable in Azerbaijan's proposals. However, the items indicated in the Azerbaijani proposals on concluding a peace treaty do not fully reflect the entire agenda of the existing problems,” Mirzoyan reiterated.
He said for the Armenian side it is fundamentally important that the rights and freedoms of the Armenians of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) are clearly guaranteed, and the status of Nagorno-Karabakh is finally clarified.
"For us, the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is not a territorial issue, but a question of rights. As we have already reported, the Armenian side responded to the Azerbaijani proposal emphasizing this position," Mirzoyan said.
On March 14 the Armenian Foreign Ministry applied to the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairmanship to organize negotiations on the signing of peace agreement between the Republic of Armenia and the Republic of Azerbaijan on the basis of the UN Charter, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Helsinki Final Act.
“For reaching a comprehensive peace, we supplemented the Azerbaijani proposals with our proposals and handed them over to the co-chairmanship of the OSCE Minsk Group," Mirzoyan said.
Mirzoyan said the co-chairing countries have notified the Foreign Ministry that the Armenian side's proposals have been forwarded to official Baku, which has not yet responded.
The foreign minister said military actions in Ukraine have complicated the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs’ mission even at the level of joint discussions.
"But taking into account specific signals from the co-chairing countries and other states, I would like to confirm that the international community continues to see a settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict in the format of the OSCE MG and this is encouraging," he said. -0-
