“The updated Madrid principles [of the conflict’s resolution] put forward by the mediators [in 2009] for the continuation of negotiations could have been accepted,” Aliyev said on Tuesday during a meeting of his cabinet. “But unfortunately, the Armenian side didn’t accept those principles, renounced them, and the process of negotiations stagnated until the middle of 2010.
“After that new proposals were made. Sometimes these proposals changed the essence and the basic principles of negotiations, which we have conducted for the last seven years.”
“That is why we are now faced with a new situation,” added Aliyev.
Aliyev did not specify whether he supports what the United States, Russia and France have described as the latest version of their basic principles of Karabakh peace that was discussed by the Azerbaijani and Armenian presidents at their last two meetings held in Russia in March and June this year.
The mediators hoped that the most recent Armenian-Azerbaijani summit organized by Russia’s President Dmitry Medvedev in Kazan will yield a long-awaited framework agreement on Karabakh. However, Aliyev and Armenian President Serzh Sarkisian failed to reach any agreements.
Armenia says that the Kazan summit failed because Aliyev demanded a dozen changes in the current basic principles. Azerbaijani officials have not explicitly denied these claims.
Medvedev last week sent his Armenian and Azerbaijani counterparts letters proposing ways of breaking the current impasse. Both sides promised to promptly respond to it.
Aliyev mentioned the letter in passing but said nothing about his response to the Russian president.
The conflicting parties are believed to disagree on some crucial details of the proposed settlement, including a future referendum on Karabakh’s status.