FM : No new proposals presented to Karabakh conflict parties

Armenia speculates the self-determination principle of the peoples, ignoring the rights of the Azerbaijanis of Nagorno-Karabakh, who of course want to live in a part of Azerbaijan, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov said during a press conference with his Portuguese counterpart in Baku on Thursday.

"The self-determination principle does not mean seizing the territory of another country and in particular, Azerbaijan," Mammadyarov said.

"Azerbaijan signed the Helsinki Final Act on Security and Cooperation in Europe," the minister said. "It adheres to the three basic principles in this document in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict: non-use of force, preserving territorial integrity and the self-determination principle.

"But the self-determination principle does not mean the occupation of Azerbaijani lands," the minister added.

No new proposals have been presented to the parties during the Paris meeting of Azerbaijani and Armenian foreign ministers, he said.

"We will continue the negotiation process, but would like to start working on the final variant of the big peace agreement," Mammadyarov said.

Mammadyarov added that OSCE Minsk Group co-chairmen will arrive in the region in mid-July to continue negotiations with the parties to the conflict.

Portuguese Foreign Minister Paulo Portas said that the principle of territorial integrity must be the main one while solving the conflict.

"I believe in a diplomatic way of resolving the conflict," he said.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Armenian armed forces have occupied 20 per cent of Azerbaijan since 1992, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group - Russia, France and the U.S. - are currently holding peace negotiations.

Armenia has not yet implemented the U.N. Security Council's four resolutions on the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding regions.


/Trend/