The recent statement on Karabakh by the U.S., Russian, French presidents pursues an aim to return conflicting sides to initial stage of talks, prior to the meetings in Sochi and Saint Petersburg, the head of Heritage parliamentary group Stepan Safaryan told NEWS.am.

He pointed out Azerbaijan’s enthusiasm after the Sochi meeting, while the Azerbaijani leader was really upset unlike his Armenian counterpart, which was followed by an Azerbaijani act of sabotage in the contact line. “I think that the statement by Medvedev, Obama and Sarkozy was aimed at returning the sides to the initial stage to spare them the disappointments and hopes of the past,” he noted.  He emphasized that the Presidents should have pointed out Nagorno-Karabakh’s interim status and fix its de-facto status. “If the co-chairs put off the discussion of the peoples’ right to self-determination to future, the principle of Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity should also be considered afterwards,” Safaryan said.

On the whole, the expert deems that the OSCE Minsk Group proposals, including the Madrid Principles, cannot be considered as a discussed document, as they were not submitted to Stepanakert.

The joint statement by Armenian, U.S. and French Presidents reds, “We, the Presidents of the OSCE Minsk Group’s Co-Chair countries, France, the Russian Federation, and the United States of America, reaffirm our commitment to support the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan as they finalize the Basic Principles for the peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. 

We welcome as a significant step the recognition by both sides that a lasting settlement must be based upon the Helsinki Principles and the elements that we proposed in connection with our statement at the L’Aquila Summit of the Eight on July 10, 2009, relating to: the return of the occupied territories surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh, interim status for Nagorno-Karabakh guaranteeing security and self-governance, a corridor linking Armenia to Nagorno-Karabakh; final status of Nagorno-Karabakh to be determined in the future by a legally-binding expression of will, the right of all internally-displaced persons and refugees to return, and international security guarantees, including a peacekeeping operation.”