Tajikistan, Dushanbe, May 18 / Trend Special Correspondent R.Mirzabeyova/
Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov hopes that the co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group will be able to persuade Armenia to accept updated Madrid principles so that the sides could start discussing a comprehensive peace agreement on the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
"There are updated proposals presented by the co-chairs of the Minsk Group and they are now on the table. Azerbaijan has already announced that it accepts these principles in general, and I hope that the co-chairs will be able to persuade Armenia as well to accept this as a basis in order to enable us to start discussing a comprehensive peace agreement on the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict," Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov told Trend special correspondent upon his arrival in Dushanbe.
In Dushanbe, Mammadyarov will attend the 37th session of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), which will be held on May 18-20.
According to the Minister, the Azerbaijani side demonstrated constructivism in the negotiations and stated that generally accepts all proposals that were presented in Athens by the co-hchairs of the OSCE Minsk Group. "So, the constructivism is present and we are prepared to move forward," Mammadyarov said.
The Minister remembered that he intends to meet with the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs in early June. "We will discuss all issues regarding the peaceful settlement," Mammadyarov said.
The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Armenian armed forces have occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan since 1992, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and 7 surrounding districts. Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994.
The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group - Russia, France, and the U.S. - are currently holding the peace negotiations.
Armenia has not yet implemented the U.N. Security Council's resolutions on the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh region and the occupied territories.