The next round of talks between Armenian and Azerbaijani Presidents, Serzh Sargsyan and Ilham Aliyev, has begun at the Consulate of France in Munich, Germany. The talks are being held through the mediation of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs, Robert Bradtke (USA), Yuri Merzlyakov (Russia) and Bernard Fassier (France).

The Azeri leader made strongly worded statements on the threshold of the meeting. Specifically, he stated that the Munich meeting must play a decisive role in the negotiation process. If the meeting fails to produce any results, “we will abandon any hope for the negotiations,” Aliyev said, without ruling out a settlement of the conflict by force. In that case “we have not any other way out. We must be ready for that,” Aliyev said. He stressed that Azerbaijan has full right “to liberate its lands.”

RA Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian earlier stated Azerbaijan had for a long time refused to negotiate the Madrid principles and even to accept the existence of the document. Only recently did official Baku agree to sit down at the negotiating table.

The expert Armen Gevorgyan accounts for Ilham Aliyev’s aggressive statements by official Baku’s attempts to “break” the OSCE Minsk Group, which is acting as mediator, and facilitate Turkey’s more active involvement in the process.

The sides are conducting negotiations through the OSCE MG’s mediation to work out and consolidate the fundamental principles of settling the conflict. They are outlined in a document known as Madrid principles. In November 2007, the OSCE MG Co-Chairs submitted the fundamental principles to the Armenian and Azerbaijani leaders. The contents of the document were kept secret. The document provides for the return of territories surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh to Azerbaijan, an interim status of Nagorno-Karabakh, guarantees of security and self-government, an open corridor to connect Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh, determination of a final status of Nagorno-Karabakh in the future through the expression of a legally binding will, as well as for the right of all the internally displaced persons to return to their places of residence, international security guarantees and peace-keeping operation. The document was revised in Krakow, but has not yet been submitted to the sides.