Trilateral meeting between presidents may end in successive Maindorf Declaration

PanARMENIAN.Net - The upcoming trilateral meeting between Armenian, Azerbaijani and Russian Presidents will probably focus on serious issues, with Russia trying to make out Armenia and Azerbaijan's maneuvers, Armenia's ex-Foreign Minister Alexander Arzumanyan finds.



"I don't think the Presidents will sign any document in Sochi. But even a document is signed, it will be equivalent to Maindorf Declaration not essentially impacting Karabakh settlement process," he told a news conference in Yerevan.



At that, he noted that such development will not push Turkey to sign Protocols, considering that there is serious progress in conflict settlement process.



The trilateral meeting between Armenian, Russian and Azerbaijani leaders in due in Sochi on January 25.



The Artsakh ( Nagorno Karabakh Republic) (NKR) is a de facto independent republic located in the South Caucasus, bordering by Azerbaijan to the north and east, Iran to the south, and Armenia to the west.



After the Soviet Union established control over the area, in 1923 it formed the Nagorno Karabakh Autonomous Oblast (NKAO) within the Azerbaijan SSR. In the final years of the Soviet Union, Azerbaijan launched an ethnic cleansing which resulted in the Karabakh War that was fought from 1991 to 1994.



Since the ceasefire in 1994, most of Nagorno Karabakh and several regions of Azerbaijan around it (the security zone) remain under the control of Nagorno Karabakh defense army.



Armenia and Azerbaijan have since been holding peace talks mediated by the OSCE Minsk Group.



Maindorf Declaration: an interstate agreement signed by Presidents of Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Armenia and Russian Federation on November 2, 2008 in Maindorf (outskirts of Moscow).



Under the document, the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan took commitment "to contribute to enhancing the situation in South Caucasus and ensuring peace, stability and security via political settlement of Nagorno Karabakh conflict based on the principles and norms of international law and decisions and documents deriving thereof."



Parties reiterated the significant role of continuing Minsk Group's mediatory efforts in the frameworks of Madrid Document (dated Nov. 29, 2007).



They also agreed that "peaceful conflict settlement should be accompanied by legally binding international guarantees."



The Protocols aimed at normalization of bilateral ties and opening of the border between Armenia and Turkey were signed in Zurich by Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian and his Turkish counterpart Ahmet Davutoglu on October 10, 2009, after a series of diplomatic talks held through Swiss mediation.