Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian has accused Azerbaijan of distorting the negotiating process to find a Karabakh settlement.
Talking after meeting the OSCE Minsk Group mediators in Yerevan on Thursday, Nalbandian said: "The Azerbaijani officials’ statements distort the essence of the negotiating process after Deauville and are based on invented details about the stationing of peacekeepers and other matters. Are they evidence of Baku’s readiness to agree to the suggestions without changes and amendments, as the co-chairs urge?"
He said that Armenia had given a clear answer to the latest version of the basic principles for a conflict settlement, submitted by the Minsk Group co-chairs, PanARMENIAN.Net reported.
If Azerbaijan is ready to give unequivocal consent to the latest version, the expected progress can be made, Nalbandian said.
Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov said after meeting the Minsk Group co-chairs on Tuesday that Baku relied on the basic principles, as proposed by the co-chairs.
"The first [basic principle] implies liberation of the occupied lands," Mammadyarov said in remarks that appear to have angered Nalbandian. "In fact, the Armenians agree to this condition but set their own which is to set the date of a referendum in Nagorno-Karabakh. However, this issue remains open because of Armenia’s position. The Armenians already speak about the withdrawal of snipers from the front line, but it is necessary to withdraw troops rather than snipers from the occupied lands.”
As for the composition of peacekeeping forces in the event of an agreement, the Azerbaijani minister said there was an agreement that peacekeeping forces would be formed not from among the co-chairing countries or neighbouring states.
After their talks with Edward Nalbandian, the OSCE Minsk Group сo-сhairs, Bernard Fassier of France, Igor Popov of Russia and Robert Bradtke of the USA, said that an official communiqué would be issued, according to News.am.
The co-chairs briefed Nalbandian on their meetings in Baku and Karabakh's main town, Khankandi. They also discussed preparations for the summit of the Armenian, Azerbaijani and Russian presidents to be held in Kazan on 25 June, the Armenian Foreign Ministry press service reported.
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