European Forum

No agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan on Nagorno-Karabakh

On 24 June Azeri President Ilham Aliyev and Armenia's Serzh Sarksyan held talks in the Russian city of Kazan, on Nagorno-Karabakh that were billed as crucial for trying to resolve the decades-long conflict surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh, the mountainous, mostly Armenian-populated region inside Azerbaijan. But Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenia's Serzh Sarksyan failed to agree on a set of "basic principles" that could have marked the start of a path toward resolution.

Armenia and Azerbaijan blamed each other on 25 June for failing to reach an agreement on a framework document that would set the stage for an end to their two decade-old conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh. Nonetheless, Azerbaijan's Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov did say that he "got the impression" that both the Armenian and Azarbaijani presidents intend to continue "working intensively" toward finding a definitive solution. Azeri and Armenian leaders and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said that the sides had reached "a mutual understanding on a range of issues whose resolution will help create conditions for an approval of the Basic Principles."

The two sides were under pressure from global powers to agree the Basic Principles, a 14-point framework document that would set the stage for talks on a peace settlement. The document would set guidelines on how to determine the final status of the Nagorno-Karabakh enclave, which has run its own affairs with Armenia's support since the war in the nineties. It would also cover the return of several territories surrounding the enclave, which also form a corridor to Armenia, to Azeri control. Other points include the right of refugees from both sides to return; an interim status providing security and self-governance for Nagorno-Karabakh; and international security guarantees to keep the fragile deal from falling apart.

A 1994 ceasefire halted the conflict that killed about 30,000 people and drove up to a million from their homes. After years struggling to shepherd the rivals toward a resolution, the United States, Russia and France - which lead mediation efforts - are pushing for a serious step forward. Azerbaijan has said it could reclaim Nagorno-Karabakh by force if the status quo persists.

Sources: RFE/RL, Reuters Photo: Flickr onewmphoto