YEREVAN. – The Madrid Principles on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict were allowing time, but Baku did not use it.

Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia Shavarsh Kocharyan stated the above-said to reporters, after Thursday’s Cabinet meeting. He noted this commenting on the recent statement by Ambassador James Warlick, US Co-Chair of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Minsk Group, with respect to handing over territories to Azerbaijan, in exchange for the status of Nagorno-Karabakh. In Kocharyan’s words, however, Warlick said nothing new, and he just repeated what is written in the Madrid Principles.

But, as per the Armenian deputy FM, after the aggression which Azerbaijan unleashed in early April, the time has come to think seriously about the basis of the Karabakh peace talks.

“At the time, postponement of the referendum in Karabakh was a concession by Armenia, within the framework of the Madrid Principles,” noted Shavarsh Kocharyan. “The [OSCE Minsk Group] mediators grounded this postponement on that, allegedly, the Baku authorities need time to prepare the [Azerbaijani] people to the idea that Karabakh cannot be part of Azerbaijan.

“[But] they [i.e. the Azerbaijanis] used this time for the opposite objective. And [this] means that all previous agreements should be seriously reconsidered.”