“The Foreign Minister’s response to both versions would be the same,” RA foreign office press secretary Tigran Balayan told NEWS.am, asked about which of the versions of the U.S., French and Russian presidents statement made in the sidelines of G8 summit was followed by RA Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian’s official response.

RA Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian appreciated the statement by the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chair countries on Karabakh conflict. “It is important that the statement, made in the sidelines of the G8 Summit in Canada, in making a reference to the elements proposed in connection with the L’Aquila statement from 10 July 2009, is re-endorsing those principles which had several times been proclaimed by Armenia as basic principles for the conflict settlement. They are- the final status of Nagorno-Karabakh must be determined by a legally-binding expression of will of the Nagorno-Karabakh people, which means a recognition to realize the right to self-determination by the people of Nagorno-Karabakh; there must be a permanent land linkage between Armenia and Artsakh; and international security guarantees must be ensured,” he said.

The joint statement by Armenian, U.S. and French Presidents reads, “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.”