Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov met in New York with the OSCE Minsk Group Co-chairs, ambassadors Robert Bradtke of U.S. and Igor Popov of Russia as well as OSCE CiO’s personal representative, ambassador Andrzej Kasprzyk.

The diplomats focused on the Nagorno Karabakh conflict, stressing the necessity to continue talks for its peaceful resolution.

According to Azeri-Press Agency, Mammadyarov said that “Armenia rejected the revised Madrid principles, thus jeopardizing the process.” He also claimed that withdrawal of Armenian troops from the “occupied territories of Azerbaijan” will bring stability and predictability to the region.

The so-called Madrid principles were submitted to Armenia and Azerbaijan in November 2007 in Madrid, Spain. These envisaged: security guarantees and the deployment of international peacekeepers; withdrawal of Armenian and Nagorno Karabakh forces from the territories adjacent to Nagorno Karabakh, with special modalities for Kelbajar and Lachin; return of displaced persons; Nagorno Karabakh’s final status to be determined eventually by a vote, with an interim status to be settled on until that time; and reopening of all transport and trade routes.

Since then, the document has undergone significant mutations. However, the sides cannot agree on a number of key issues. The June 24 meeting in Kazan on the initiative of Russian President Dmitry Medvedev ended without result, due to Azerbaijan unwillingness to accept the revised document submitted by the mediators.