Armenian President sets three provisions for resumption of Karabakh talks

Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan presented at the meeting of the ruling Republican Party the three steps which are needed to take to resume the negotiation process on the Nagorno Karabakh conflict, the spokesman for the ruling Republican Party of Armenia, Eduard Sharmazanov, said.

Sargsyan said these three provisions include introduction of mechanisms to investigate incidents, targeted statements and guarantees that Azerbaijan won't engage in new aggression against 'NKR'.

Recall, Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian said that the country doesn't abandon the negotiations on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, after Sargsyan's statement that there’s little prospect of talks to resolve the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, therefore Armenia will not resume peace talks.

Recall, on the night of April 2 all frontier positions of Azerbaijan were exposed to heavy fire from large-caliber weapons, mortars, grenade launchers and guns. In addition, Azerbaijani settlements near the front line, densely populated by civilians, were shelled.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20% of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

The two countries signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group, Russia, France and the US, are currently holding peace negotiations.

Armenia has not yet implemented the UN Security Council's four resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.