The recent Erdogan-Medvedev meeting in Moscow changef Turkey’s foreign policy towards Karabakh conflict settlement, leader of Democartic Party Aram Sargsyan finds.
“Before the meeting, Turkey claimed for final conflict settlement in return for border opening. Currently, it speaks about certain progress, which implies signing of a trilateral declaration between Armenian, Azeri and Russian presidents,” he told a news conference in Yerevan, adding that such document will reiterate Mainedorf declaration.
“To achieve conflict settlement, it is first of all necessary for Karabakh to become direct party to peace talks. Thereafter, the country has to reject the Madrid Principles which are unacceptable to us,” Democratic Party leader said.
The Democratic Party of Armenia is a political force established in 1991. Its founder and leader is Aram Sargsyan, formerly advisor to RA President Robert Kocharyan (1998-99) and member of Armenia’s National Assembly (203-2007).
The party’s ideology is based upon the doctrine of democratic socialism. It acts in support of maintenance of democratic and national values and establishment of social justice.
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.
On January 12, 2010, the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Armenia found the protocols conformable to the country’s Organic Law.
The Karabakh-Azerbaijani conflict broke out in 1988 as result of the ethnic cleansing launched by Azerbaijan in the final years of the Soviet Union. The Karabakh War 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.
The Madrid document contains the proposals put forward by the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs on the basic principles of a settlement. The document was presented to the Armenian and Azerbaijani representatives at the OSCE summit in the Spanish capital in November 2007.
