DEAUVILLE, France—The U.S., Russian, and French presidents issued a joint statement during a Group of Eight summit in Deauville on May 26, strongly urging “the leaders of the sides to prepare their populations for peace, not war.”
The joint statement calls upon Presidents Sarkisian and Aliyev “to demonstrate their political will by finalizing the Basic Principles during their upcoming summit in June. Further delay would only call into question the commitment of the sides to reach an agreement. Once an agreement has been reached, we stand ready to witness the formal acceptance of these Principles, to assist in the drafting of the peace agreement, and then to support its implementation with our international partners.”
Armenia welcomes statement
The Armenian Foreign Ministry welcomed the statement.
“The statement made today in the sidelines of the G8 Summit in Deauville by the leaders of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chair countries contains important messages and may become an impetus for the settlement of the issue,” said Foreign Minister Eduard Nalbandian in a statement posted on the ministry’s official website.
“Armenia has always been in support of the settlement of the conflict between Azerbaijan and Nagorno-Karabagh through exclusively peaceful means and has repeatedly proven that in practice, therefore, it is clear to whom is addressed the unequivocal message of the statement in this regard,” he added.
“Armenia has given a clear answer to the latest version of the Basic Principles proposed by the three co-chairs as a basis for the negotiations of the settlement. If Azerbaijan gives an unequivocal agreement, then it will be possible to register a progress in the process of the settlement,” concluded Nalbandian.
ANCA comments
“In yet another misguided exercise in artificial even-handedness, Presidents Obama, Medvedev, and Sarkozy have—at the expense of the OSCE Minsk Group’s work toward a fair and lasting peace—once again failed to directly confront the elephant in the room—namely Azerbaijan’s open military escalation toward war,” said ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian. “The cause of regional peace would be far better served by concrete steps by these leaders squarely challenging Baku’s belligerence and imposing concrete costs on Azerbaijan for any new threats or acts of aggression.”
Below is the statement in full.
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Joint Statement on the Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict by Dmitry Medvedev, President of the Russian Federation, Barack Obama, President of the United States of America, and Nicolas Sarkozy, President of the French Republic at the Deauville Summit of the Eight, May 26, 2011.
We, the Presidents of the OSCE Minsk Group’s Co-Chair countries—France, the Russian Federation, and the United States of America—are convinced the time has arrived for all the sides to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict to take a decisive step towards a peaceful settlement.
We reiterate that only a negotiated settlement can lead to peace, stability, and reconciliation, opening opportunities for regional development and cooperation. The use of force created the current situation of confrontation and instability. Its use again would only bring more suffering and devastation, and would be condemned by the international community. We strongly urge the leaders of the sides to prepare their populations for peace, not war.
As a result of efforts by the parties and the Co-Chair countries at all levels, significant progress has been made. The latest version of the Basic Principles, as discussed in Sochi on March 5, lays a just and balanced foundation for the drafting of a comprehensive peace settlement. This document, based on the Helsinki Final Act and elements outlined in our joint declarations in L’Aquila in July 2009 and Muskoka in June 2010, provides a way for all sides to move beyond the unacceptable status quo.
We therefore call upon the Presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan to demonstrate their political will by finalizing the Basic Principles during their upcoming summit in June. Further delay would only call into question the commitment of the sides to reach an agreement. Once an agreement has been reached, we stand ready to witness the formal acceptance of these Principles, to assist in the drafting of the peace agreement, and then to support its implementation with our international partners.
All that matters is that Karabagh remain independent. What are these ‘basic principles’?
We smell Oil
We, the Presidents of the OSCE Minsk Group’s Co-Chair countries—France, the Russian Federation, and the United States of America—are convinced that we are chicken s***#($*#($#*(#$* when it comes to putting our foot up in Azeri’s you know what and tell them TO STOP or ELSEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE..
Instead of buttering up everyone in the room by sending out joint statement to both Armenia’s President and Azerbajian’s President to come up with finalized agreement makes NO SENSE to normal bystander where CLEARLY AND WITHOUT A DOUBT, the entire world know that Armenia has been nothing but cooperative and without any aggression toward Azeris.. NOW ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE COIN is that Azeris have been and continue to show aggression and do not show any signs of backing out..
Now these disdinguished PRESIDENTS OF France, Russia and USA should concentrate their efforts on how they will PUNISH Azeris IF AND WHEN they break and violate the peace and harass peaceful Armenians… such jokes…
Gayane
Dear brave Gayane :)
Your grandfather blood indeed runs through you. :)
Are you from CA?
Dear Gayane
you are an Armenian saint
Like your name
If they forget about our genocide
are they going to get back Artsakh?
Sylva
For the dim bulbs at the US State Department there is only one elephant in any room: Who was the oil?
In order to make a sensible comment one has to know “the principles of the settlement”. Irrespective of the facts we all know that politicians and policy makers have all their “prices and/or their interests”. In the past they have always favored Azerbaijan and I am sure it is the same now.
Years ago I wrote an article about the railroad that Azerbaijan wanted to build to bypass Armenia to further isolate it. At that time I emphasized that if Azerbaijanis sincerely desired peace they should abandon the project. And one of the stipulations of the “Peace Talks” should be the prohibition of the construction of the railroad. Unfortunately it fell on deaf ears and in the near future the construction of that railroad will be completed. Bryza, currently the US Ambassador to Azerbaijan, who at that time was one of the heads of the Peace Negotiating Team said, “USA will not object as long as USA doesn’t provide the funds.”
The government of Azerbaijan’s policy is to propagate and breed hate towards Armenia and Armenians. Anyone who has Armenian name can not visit Azerbaijan even if he or she is American. They don’t allow anyone with an Armenian name to fly an Azerbaijani airline even outside Azerbaijan etc.
The most important issue here is whether Russians will be bought or not. As long as they are on our side we should not return a single inch of liberated land.
Bedros H. Kojian, M.D.
Dear AR.. Ayo.. California mech em… mer geghestik poqrik Hayastanum.. Glendalum..:)
Du vorteghits er?I hope to keep my great grandfather’s legacy alive…Thank you for your kind words..:)
My darling Armenian banasteghtsuhi Sylva jan… Pachikner qez..:)
Gayane
Yes el.
Gayane; I have read many of your posts on many subjects. Your passion for our people and our nation illustrates clearly the Armenian people have survived centuries of oppression, betrayal and incredible challenges… the Armenian community , whether in the Republic or the diaspora, is blessed with people like you who carry the spirit of our nation in their heart. Your name is quite appropriate.
Aliyev knows his father barked up the wrong tree when he attacked Artsakh. These are some of the most independent and spirited people within our own nation. We can look at our glorious history and see the bond of the heros of Avarayr in 451, at Sadarabad in 1918 and in Karabagh in 1988. The people of Karabagh are an inspiration.
Our diaspora here in the United States was , of course formed, by the genocide. I am a second generation American born Armenian, but we all have traveled the path of expulsion by the Turks…whether we were murdered…. forced to leave western Armenia for the US or the Middle East or were pushed east into the Caucasus section of our historic homeland. We are all one… the sons and daughters of a proud and determined people.
Every time our people have taken an historic stand, our hope and faith has been rewarded by our Lord. The odds were ridiculous in 451, yet our faith drove us to victory. In 1918, in the aftermath of the genocide our shattered people huddled in less than 10% of our historic homeland and stopped an onslaught that would have completed the genocide and eliminated any reference to Armenia as we know it today. Same story in Karabagh. The intangables create the advantage….will,passion, commitment, survival instincts and faith. Gayane from your comments, you represents the best of these attributes…. the same traits that are the key to our success. God bless you.
Vay Stepan jan… I got goosebumps when I read your comment… From the bottom of my heart, I thank you for such wonderful words…I can promise that I will keep the will, passion, commitment, survival instincts and faith till the last breath… and I promse I will instill such attributes to my future children (if i ever get married and have children) :) ….
I know that we can conquer anything if we work, act and hurt in unity… only then we can have victory no matter how strog the enemy is… I know for a fact that many who post on these pages like Katia K, Avery, AR, Armen, Boyajian, among many others share the same attributes as I and I am blessed to know they exist.. including yourself… especially you…a second generation American born Armenian.. I am proud of you…
God Bless
Gayane