Edward Nalbandian about Almaty meeting

“The meeting in Almaty was useful, although there was no possibility of issuing a five-sided statement because of Azerbaijan's non-constructive position,” Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian said.

"Representatives of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chair countries, Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation Sergei Lavrov, Foreign Minister of France Bernard Kouchner, and Deputy Secretary of State of the United States James Steinberg issued a statement on the Karabakh issue. This statement first of all recalled the joint statement on Nagorno-Karabakh of December 1, 2009 at the OSCE Ministerial meeting in Athens and reminded the sides of their commitment to seek a peaceful settlement to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict based on the principles contained in the Helsinki Final Act, particularly those related to refraining from the threat or use of force, the territorial integrity of states, and the equal rights and self determination of peoples. They reiterated that the elements articulated by Presidents Medvedev, Sarkozy, and Obama on July 10, 2009 at L'Aquila and repeated at Muskoka on June 26, 2010 must be the foundation of any fair and lasting settlement to the conflict,” the Foreign Minister said.

“Secondly, the statement emphasizes that additional actions are needed to reinforce the ceasefire of 1994. In the course of many years Azerbaijan has been refusing to reinforce the ceasefire. The co-chair countries once again stressed the necessity of it to create a more favorable atmosphere for further political dialogue and reaching agreements,” the Minister stated.

“The statement refers to the provocation of the Azerbaijani side on June 18-19. I think it's obvious to everyone who the statement is addressed to, because it refers to inflammatory public statements, which aggravate the situation and do not contribute to the settlement of the conflict,” Minister Nalbandian stated.

Public Radio of Armenia