There is yet no clear information on the April meeting of the Presidents of Azerbaijan and Armenia but if it takes place, I think it will be substantial.

According to 1news.az, the statement came from Milli Majlis deputy of Azerbaijan Rasim Musabayov, commenting on the nature of the expected meeting.

 “Much at the upcoming meeting will depend on the preparations held by the Minsk Group co-chairs and the foreign ministers and on whether they will manage to submit definite proposals for consideration of the heads of the two states”, the deputy said.

 According to the MP, the resolution of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict is delayed because of the unconstructive position of Armenia.

 “How can we settle the Nagorno Karabakh conflict, if, rudely speaking, Armenia insists on legalization of the territorial seizure of Azerbaijani lands?

 I do not see Armenia’s readiness to disavow its demands related to its annexation of Karabakh.

 Armenia is not ready to withdraw from the occupied lands, though it insists on some trust-building measures and strengthening of the ceasefire regime, which means de-facto conservation of existing situation, rather than changes in it”, the parliamentarian said.

Musabayov’s expectations regarding the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs were no less critical.

 “Frankly speaking, I absolutely do not see the role of the Minsk Group in the negotiation process. Today its activity lies in creation of conditions for the parties to negotiate and nothing more.

 I think that there is no need for such a platform for dialogue, since Azerbaijan and Armenia could negotiate even without the Minsk Group. The matter is that it would be impossible to continue negotiations on the level of the Minsk Group co-chairs because these are the medium-level officials of the respective foreign ministers. But the co-chairing countries on the level of presidents or foreign ministers do not give any serious impulse directly to the negotiation process.

 Unfortunately, no hopes can be laid on the Minsk Group co-chairs in the negotiation process on Nagorno Karabakh”, Rasim Musabayev believes.

 The foreign ministers of Azerbaijan and Armenia – Elmar Mammadyarov and Edward Nalbandian- met in Moscow on 4 April.

They discussed possible meeting of the presidents.

OSCE Minsk Group remains the key platform for negotiations between Armenia and Azerbaijan on the resolution of the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict over Nagorno Karabakh.

Yet, despite the efforts of the international mediators, this conflict remains unsettled for more than 20 years. 20% of Azerbaijani lands including Nagorno Karabakh and seven surrounding regions, remain under occupation of the Armenian armed forces. Four resolutions of the UN Security Council call for the withdrawal of the armed forces from the occupied lands of Azerbaijan but Armenia still ignores them.

News.Az