Drafting of peace treaty for Karabakh conflict possible only after reconciliation of basics principle- Armenian FM says

EREVAN, February 17. / ARKA /. Drafting of a peace treaty for the resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is possible only after reconciliation of the basic principles, Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian told Tuesday the visiting  OSCE Minsk Group co-chairmen Igor Popov (Russia), James Warlick (USA) and Pierre Andre (France), as well as the personal representative of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office Andrzej Kasprzyk.

"When all the basic conflict settlement principles are reconciled and Nagorno-Karabakh also agrees to them then it will be possible to begin negotiations between Azerbaijan, Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia for drafting a comprehensive peace agreement,' Nalbandian was quoted as saying by the foreign ministry’s press office.

Nalbandian drew the attention of the co-chairs to the fact that even after their statement made on  January 27, as well as the statements made by the OSCE president and the mediators on February 7 Azerbaijan  continues to  violate  the ceasefire together with provocations and unacceptable  rhetoric, criticized earlier by the co-chairs.

Armenian foreign minister said Azerbaijani leadership actually seeks to reverse the progress made in the negotiation process over the years. According to him, Baku is trying to take advantage of the unresolved conflict which is to blame only on itself to justify  trampling of human rights in the country and pressurize its opponents.

On Azerbaijan's attempts to portray two Azerbaijani commandoes sentenced by a court in Nagorno-Karabakh to lengthy prison terms as "innocent lambs gone astray," Nalbandian said these steps are not effective.

In late December 2014 a court in Stepanakert, sentenced  two citizens of Azerbaijan - Shahbaz Guliyev and Dilhamu Askerov – who were accused of sabotage and murder - to 22 years in prison and  life in prison respectively.

"Their crimes are documented and proven. They were accused of committing a kidnapping, torture and brutal murder of a 17-year-old boy," said Nalbandian.

The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict erupted into armed clashes after the collapse of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s as the predominantly Armenian-populated enclave of Azerbaijan sought to secede from Azerbaijan and declared its independence backed by succeeding referendum. A truce was brokered by Russia in 1994, although no permanent peace agreement has been signed.

Since then, Nagorno-Karabakh and several adjacent regions have been under the control of Armenian forces of Karabakh. Nagorno-Karabakh is the longest-running post-Soviet era conflict and has continued to simmer despite the relative peace of the past two decades, with snipers causing tens of deaths a year. - 0-