The Armenian and Azerbaijani leaders' next meeting is in effect the last chance for progress on the OSCE's basic principles for a Karabakh settlement.
This is the view of Azerbaijani political scientist and member of parliament, Rasim Musabayov, who talked to 1 news.az about the Armenia-Azerbaijani summit in Kazan on 25 June, to be mediated by the Russian president.
“If nothing positive comes out of Kazan, it means there is no sense in further discussions of the peace settlement on the basis of the Madrid principles. The first step to the conflict settlement must be the withdrawal of the Armenian occupying troops from Azerbaijani regions and, if this does not happen, any achievement in peace talks is out of the question,” Musabayov said.
The Madrid principles, or basic principles, have for some time been a subject of discussion in the peace talks.
The principles include Armenia's return of the territories surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh to Azerbaijani control, an interim status for Karabakh providing guarantees of security and self-governance and the future determination of the final legal status of Nagorno-Karabakh through a legally binding expression of will.
“I think there have always been chances to promote the peace process in the resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and after the trilateral meeting of the presidents of Russia, Azerbaijan and Armenia in Sochi on 5 March, a positive background was created and the expectations of progress in a peace settlement increased, MP Rasim Musabayov told 1 news.az.
"What's most important is that ahead of the meeting in Kazan, the heads of the OSCE Minsk group co-chairing states and mediators voiced confidence that the further preservation of the status quo in the conflict is inadmissible,” he continued.
“However, we should not forget that the sad experience of the numerous previous meetings at different levels and in different formats may be repeated at the meeting in Kazan and no achievement reached there. Nonetheless, it seems that the OSCE Minsk Group spares no effort to avoid a new failure in Kazan and achieve the signing of at least a symbolic document on the outcome of the meeting of the three presidents,” the Milli Majlis deputy said.
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