Azerbaijani FM: Baku may refuse from military rhetoric only after deoccupation of Azerbaijani lands

Mammadyarov said, that possibly Armenia believes the solution to this conflict is possible without the use of force, but the force has already been applied and Azerbaijan's lands have been occupied.

"I believe if Armenia treats the process without hysterical rhetoric and takes the issue seriously, the conflict may be resolved," Mammadyarov said.

As a first step, the occupied territories should be liberated and the Armenian armed forces should withdraw from Azerbaijani lands, the minister added.

"Armenia said neither "yes" or "no" to the updated Madrid principles in St. Petersburg and this creates great difficulties to proceed with peace talks," Mammadyarov said.

Mammadyarov said on one hand, Armenia said that it is ready to continue to work on the Madrid principles, on the other hand, it does not agree on certain points in the updated document.

"Armenia calls the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict frozen, but we do not agree, since the clashes that lead to fatalities occur on the frontline," Mammadyarov noted.

At a meeting between Azerbaijani and Armenian presidents Ilham Aliyev and Serzh Sargsyan in January in Sochi, the OSCE Minsk Group presented the parties with an updated version of the Madrid document, which is the basis for negotiations.

Baku, adopting the Madrid principles, has not yet received information from the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairmen on Yerevan's position on the principles.

The Minsk Groups proposals officially submitted to the Foreign Ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan at the Madrid OSCE summit in November 2007 is base of today's talks. These proposals, also known as the "basic principles", are the result of a number of meetings the Azerbaijani and Armenian foreign ministers in 2004 in Prague called "Prague process".

The "basic principles" means the determination of the final status of the Nagorno-Karabakh by popular vote at the last stage of the peace process, following all other confidence-building measures, including renunciation of the use of force, the gradual withdrawal of Armenian forces from the occupied territories, return of displaced persons to their home and the resumption of trade and communication. 


/Trend/