No Breakthrough in Kazan Because Azerbaijan Proposed Dozen Changes: Armenia MFA

Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan stated on Jun. 22 in Strasbourg that positive outcomes and progress could be expected in Kazan if Azerbaijan does not suggest new amendments. There was no breakthrough in Kazan because Azerbaijan wasn’t prepared to accept the latest version of the Basic Principles proposed by the Minsk Group Co-Chairs, said Armenian foreign minister Edward Nalbandian, speaking to journalists after the meeting of Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in Kazan, Russia, on Friday.

“The Azerbaijani side suggested about a dozen amendments and that was the reason why there was no breakthrough in Kazan. In any case, the meeting, I believe, was helpful in the sense that detailed discussions continued. And importantly, Russian President Medvedev, who has made a huge contribution to this process in the last three years, declared his willingness to continue efforts to achieve consent over the principles and a final agreement based on them.

“This is already the 12th meeting between the parties in the last three years. But in the last year, this is at least the fourth time that this scenario, when Azerbaijan basically comes forth with new changes and suggestions, is repeated. This is the reality. But we are going to continue negotiations because there’s no other road to [conflict] settlement. Only through peaceful means and negotiations is it possible to resolve the conflict,” said Nalbandian, according to the RA Ministry of Foreign Affairs press office.