Thursday, December 7 2017 18:08

ArmInfo. Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian described nine reasons for the lack of progress in the negotiation process on the Nagorno-Karabakh  settlement, despite holding numerous high-level meetings.

As the press service of the Armenian Foreign Ministry told ArmInfo,  during the speech at the 24th meeting of the OSCE Ministerial Council  in Vienna, Nalbandian stated that, despite the fact that 10 years ago  in Madrid, within the framework of the Ministerial meeting, the basic  principles for the settlement of the conflict were presented, and  Armenia has repeatedly affirmed its commitment to their  implementation, and the heads of State of the OSCE Minsk Group  expressed support for their implementation in five joint statements,  no progress has been made in the settlement. According to the  Armenian Foreign Minister, this is due to a number of reasons.

"First of all, Azerbaijan took a step back and rejected the three  principles for the settlement of the Karabakh conflict, and secondly,  Azerbaijan shows a selective approach to the elements proposed by the  co-chairs, although the latter are constantly warned to refrain from  such actions, as they perceive the proposals submitted by them as a  single. However, they stressed that attempts to separate the elements  from each other or to give one of them a paramount importance would  make settlement impossible," he said.

Thirdly, according to Nalbandian, Baku does not comply with the  agreements reached and departs from them. The fourth reason,  according to the Armenian Minister, is the constant obstacles to the  efforts of the co-chairs and attempts to transfer the settlement to a  different format, which openly indicates the intention of Azerbaijan  to fail the negotiation process. According to him, it is not  surprising that the mediators in their statements urged Baku to  abandon this position.

"Fifthly, the use of force by Azerbaijan, periodic violations of the  ceasefire and provocations, as well as conducting unannounced  military trainings are open actions against the OSCE Vienna  documents, militaristic statements by high-ranking officials of  Azerbaijan demonstrate that Baku perceives war as a possible option  for resolving the conflict. The mediators called on Azerbaijan to  refrain from aggravating the situation, confirm the commitment to a  peaceful solution, no one doubts that it is Azerbaijan who constantly  violates the ceasefire regime and aggravates the situation," the  Armenian FM said.

The sixth reason, according to Nalbandian, is April 2016 aggression  of Azerbaijan, accompanied by a rude violation of international  humanitarian law, barbarity against civilians, including women,  children and the elderly, torture and decapitation by the ISIS  methods. According to him, these actions of Azerbaijan caused serious  damage to the negotiation process. Azerbaijan's refusal to implement  the Vienna and St. Petersburg agreements at the level of the heads of  state reached after the April aggression is the seventh reason, the  Armenian minister believes.

"Eighth - Azerbaijan continues anti-Armenian propaganda, calling  Armenians around the world its number one enemy, representing them as  a genetic enemy, destroying the Armenian cultural heritage on its  territory, and claims that, allegedly, the territories of Armenia are  the historical Azerbaijani lands.  Moreover, it includes everyone who  visited Artsakh in the "black list" of the Ministry of Foreign  Affairs of Azerbaijan: Ninthly, after many years of negotiations  around the basic principles of the settlement, Azerbaijan began to  assert that there is no need accept - is a sign of disrespect to the  other side of the negotiating process, the mediators and the time  spent", said Nalbandian.

The uncompromising and maximalist position of Azerbaijan has become a  serious obstacle to the advancement of the peace process and largely  contributes to the preservation of the status quo. At the same time,  he added that the proposals of the co-chairs for the settlement of  the conflict are the way that can lead to a change in the status quo.  Nevertheless, Nalbandian stated, Azerbaijan rejects these proposals,  doing everything possible to maintain the status quo, but at the same  time giving the impression that it is a supporter of its change.

The Armenian Foreign Minister stressed that Azerbaijan's expenditures  and policy testify to the true intentions of it. He recalled that  Baku spends billions to find influence in various capitals of the  world, which was once again uncovered through the sad case of  Landromat (corruption scandal related to the bribery of foreign  officials by the Azeri government), more money is spent on arms,  however to this day, Baku has not spent a penny to prepare its own  population for peace, which is constantly being called upon by the  mediators.

"If Baku follows the appeals of the co-chairs strictly, respects the  cease-fire regime and fulfills the agreements reached earlier,  confirms adherence to the principles of conflict settlement and will  participate in the negotiation process, this will open the way for  facilitating the negotiation process and changing the status quo on  the basis of the proposals of the mediators that have no  alternative,". He added that it was in this spirit that he held six  meetings this year with his Azerbaijani counterpart.

Touching upon yesterday's meeting with the Azerbaijani Foreign  Minister Elmar Mamedyarov, Nalbandian said that it was in a positive  atmosphere. At the same time he urged to wait for the developments  that will follow this meeting.

Nalbandian also stressed that next year, Artsakh will celebrate the  30th anniversary of the struggle for freedom and the right to  independently determine its fate. "For three decades the people of  Artsakh, despite the devastating war and all the difficulties,  managed to create a society based on democratic institutions, to  protect human rights and fundamental freedoms. The resolution of the  conflict must respect all the inalienable rights of the people of  Artsakh and must guarantee their unimpeded implementation," he said.