The USA has voiced disappointment at the failure of the latest talks on a Karabakh settlement, while another mediator, France, has been more upbeat.
The talks between the Armenian and Azerbaijani leaders, mediated by the Russian president, were held in Kazan on Friday.
No official reaction has yet come from Russia, the third country alongside the USA and France, co-chairing the OSCE Minsk Group, the international body mediating a settlement to the Karabakh conflict. However, unconfirmed reports say that Russian President Dmitriy Medvedev is disappointed with the outcome.
Before the meeting in Kazan, US President Barack Obama and French President Nicolas Sarkozy had urged the Azerbaijani and Armenian leaders to reach agreement on what are known as the Basic Principles for a Karabakh settlement.
Agreement on the principles was not reached, with both countries subsequently blaming each other for the failure.
US reaction
Asked at a briefing about Washington's reaction to the failure of the latest meeting, US State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland replied: "As you know, the presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan were not able to agree on the Basic Principles when they met in Kazan. However, in their joint statement with President Medvedev, both of them noted that they had improved their understanding on a number of issues, agreed to keep working on the Basic Principles, and to come back together at a future date to be specified. But I would say it’s disappointing."
French reaction
The Foreign Ministry of France, another of the countries co-chairing the Minsk Group of mediators, was slightly more positive in a statement issued on 27 June. Commenting on the declaration made by the presidents of Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan following their talks in Kazan, the French Foreign Ministry said:
"As this declaration indicates, the Kazan meeting allowed several points of understanding to be identified or confirmed, which allows the continuation of negotiations on the current basis with a view to the final adoption of the principles for a settlement proposed by the mediators.
"The result is not negligible, France with its American and Russian partners in the co-chairmanship of the Minsk Group, will spare no effort to help all parties in the negotiation process."
The OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs, who lead the mediating mission, will return to the region soon, the French statement said.
"The French co-chairman and his American and US colleagues, who had a long meeting with the Armenian and Azerbaijani presidents in Kazan, will go to Yerevan, Baku and Nagorno-Karabakh again in the coming weeks to prepare for the continuation of negotiations."
Russian reaction
No official comment has yet come from the Russian Foreign Ministry on the talks.
Russian newspaper Kommersant correspondent Alexander Gobuyev reported, however, on Monday, citing a senior Kremlin source, that "the Russian Federation president is so disappointed at the result of the Kazan summit that he is ready to stop his mediating mission. He intends to organize the next meeting of Aliyev and Sargsyan only if the presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan finally sign the document on the principles of a Karabakh settlement."
Citing a diplomatic source that was present at the Kazan summit, Gorbuyev said that disagreements arose at the meeting on issues that the mediators had thought already decided. "They include both technical and more substantial issues, such as the determination of the future status of Nagorno-Karabakh," the source said. "But the problems are not even the disagreements themselves, but the fact that the sides changed their positions several times. This should not happen."
BackgroundThe conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh began in 1988 when Armenia made claims on Azerbaijani territory. Fierce fighting claimed some 30,000 lives, drove over one million people from their homes, and ended in 1994 with Armenian armed forces occupying a swathe of Azerbaijani territory, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region, and seven surrounding districts.
The nub of the conflict remains unresolved - the competing claims of territorial integrity, which Azerbaijan insists takes precedence in the case of Karabakh, and self-determination, which Armenia wants to see for the Armenians of Karabakh.
The Basic Principles for a settlement of the conflict, which the OSCE Minsk Group mediators are urging the two sides to accept include the return of the territories surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh to Azerbaijani control; an interim status for Nagorno-Karabakh providing guarantees for security and self-governance; a corridor linking Armenia to Nagorno-Karabakh; the future determination of the final legal status of Nagorno-Karabakh through a legally binding expression of will; the right of all internally displaced persons and refugees to return to their former places of residence; and international security guarantees that would include a peacekeeping operation.
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