Ministry: Negotiation process on Karabakh conflict should not be hostage to frontline situation

By Azernews

By Abdul Kerimkhanov

There is less and less hope that the current Armenian government will demonstrate its intense activity in the Nagorno Karabakh conflict. The last statements by officials of the Armenian government representatives, in particular, Armenian Foreign Minister Zohrab Mnatsakanyan, on the problem testify for it.

Mnatsakanyan came out with another provocative statement during the press briefing on June 27. He said “it is impossible to hold the negotiations with one hand and shoot with the other”.

Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry’s spokesperson Leyla Abdullayeva said the negotiation process on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict should not be hostage to the situation on the front line.

Abdullayeva noted that is a media statement following the Washington meeting, Mammadyarov recalled that the negotiations between Azerbaijan and Armenia, the parties to the conflict, were accompanied by flashes of tension on the contact line of troops, addin3g that no matter whether   they were held in line with the Madrid principles, their updated version, the Kazan principles or the so-called Lavrov plan,

The spokesperson stressed that nevertheless, the substantive intensive dialogue continued.

“So, the negotiation process shouldn’t be hostage to the situation on the frontline. Not understanding this and not drawing proper conclusions from what was said once again confirms the idea that the Armenian side is searching for excuses for hampering progress in the negotiation process,” Abdullayeva stated.

She recalled that the cause of tension on the frontline is the illegal presence of the Armenian Armed Forces on the territory of Azerbaijan. The spokesperson added that in order to put an end to this tension, it is necessary to advance the negotiation process to resolve substantive issues.

Abdullayeva noted that according to the logic that Armenia adheres, during a period of relative calmness in the frontline zone ensured on the basis of the mutual agreement reached after the Dushanbe meeting, the parties to the conflict had to achieve concrete results in the negotiations.

“However, a party interested in the peaceful settlement of the conflict shouldn’t look for an excuse to avoid concrete, result-oriented talks; on the contrary, it should demonstrate the political will and determination. That’s exactly what Azerbaijan and the international community expect from Armenia,” Abdullayeva concluded.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.