The recent presidential meeting in Sochi repeated the scenario of previous meetings, according to ARFD parliamentary group member Hrayr Karapetyan.
“There was much fuss both now and prior to the Meindorf meeting, but hopes didn’t come true in either case. Azerbaijan should realize that Karabakh will never form its part and should be involved in talks as an independent party. That will only strengthen our positions in the peace process,” he told a news conference in Yerevan.
At that, he didn’t rule out the possibility of Armenian authorities' pursuing the same policy course as they did with regard to RA-Turkey normalization process.
Commenting on RA CC decision on Armenia-Turkey Protocols, the ARFD representative characterized it as a political document to be necessarily considered by Armenia’s National Assembly.
The trilateral meeting between Armenian, Azerbaijani and Russian leaders took place in Sochi on Monday, Jan. 25. Following the meeting, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov summed up the results, estimating the discussions as positive.
Meindorf Declaration is an interstate agreement signed by Presidents of Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Armenia and Russian Federation on November 2, 2008 in Meindorf (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 conflict between Nagorno Karabakh and Azerbaijan broke out in 1988 as result of the ethnic cleansing the latter launched in the final years of the Soviet Union. The Karabakh War was fought from 1991 to 1994. Since the ceasefire in 1994, sealed by Armenia, Nagorno Karabakh and Azerbaijan, most of Nagorno Karabakh and several regions of Azerbaijan around it (the security zone) remain under the control of NKR defense army. Armenia and Azerbaijan are holding peace talks mediated by the OSCE Minsk Group up till now.
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.
