Armenian MFA: progress on Karabakh possible if Baku withdraws its reservations

 July 8, 2011 - 11:49 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - Armenia believes that progress in Nagorno Karabakh conflict settlement process is possible.

“Breakthrough is possible if Azerbaijan withdraws 10 reservations it made during the recent presidential meeting in Kazan,” RA Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian said when responding to a PanARMENIAN.Net reporter’s question during a joint briefing with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in Yerevan.

Minister Nalbandian expressed gratitude for Russian President Dmitry Medvedev’s continuous efforts for Karabakh conflict resolution.

Despite optimistic forecasts and international encouragement, the June 24 meeting between the Armenian, Russian and Azerbaijani Presidents ended in a statement saying that the heads of state “noted the reaching of mutual understanding on a number of questions, whose resolution helps create conditions to approve the basic principles."

The leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan praised the OSCE Minsk Group co-chair countries for their continuous attention to the problem and once again thanked Russian President for his personal endeavors to bring the positions of the conflicting sides closer.

Later on Minister of Foreign Affairs Edward Nalbandian noted that meeting was not a breakthrough, as Azerbaijan proved unready to accept the final version of the basic principles suggested by the OSCE Minsk Group Co-chairs. “Instead, the Azerbaijani leader attempted to impose 10 new proposals, thus precluding the possibility of any agreement on the issue,” he said.