International mediators for the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict have penned a new draft document that will provide a framework for the next phase of talks between Azerbaijan and Armenia, regional media reported on July 28. Details of the document remain under wraps, but it builds on a white paper produced in 2007 in Spain by the US, France and Russia.
The original document, known as the Madrid Principles, stipulates that Armenian forces must withdraw from seven Azerbaijani districts adjacent to Karabakh. A referendum on the territory's status would also be held in the region, which is primarily inhabited by ethnic Armenians. Yerevan and Baku have long argued about which of the above moves should come first.
The Armenian opposition has bitterly opposed the Madrid Principles, claiming that such a deal may pave the way for Azerbaijan to regain control of the territory. Representatives of the three mediating countries did not specify if these two principles have been modified in the new document.
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