Madrid Principles
The Madrid Principles refer to one of the proposed peace settlements of Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. The original version of the principles was presented to the Armenian and Azerbaijani foreign ministers at the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) ministerial conference in the Spanish capital Madrid in November 2007.[1] They originated from a revised version of the peace settlement proposal unveiled by the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairing countries (France, Russia and the United States) in the early summer of 2006.[1] In 2009 at the urging of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairmen the Madrid Principles were updated.
Senior Armenian and Azerbaijani officials agreed on some of the proposed principles, but reportedly made little or no progress towards the deadline of the withdrawal of Armenian forces from occupied territories or towards the modalities of the decision on the future Nagorno-Karabakh status.[1]
The principles
In July 2009, within the framework of the G8 summit in L'Aquila, Italy, the three leaders of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chair countries, Presidents Medvedev, Obama, Sarkozy, released a statement urging Presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan, Serzh Sargsyan and Ilham Aliyev to "resolve the few differences remaining between them and finalize their arrangement on these Basic Principles.".[2]
According to that very statement, the Basic Principles for the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is based on the Helsinki Final Act (1975) principles of Non-Use of Force, Territorial Integrity, and the Equal Rights and Self-Determination of Peoples.[2]
The above-mentioned document also revealed the six elements for the settlement:
- return of the territories surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh to Azerbaijani control;
- an interim status for Nagorno-Karabakh providing guarantees for security and self-governance;
- a corridor linking Armenia to Nagorno-Karabakh;
- future determination of the final legal status of Nagorno-Karabakh through a legally binding expression of will;
- the right of all internally displaced persons and refugees to return to their former places of residence; and
- international security guarantees that would include a peacekeeping operation.
At the same time the OSCE Co-Chairs urged the Presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan to resolve the few differences remaining between them and finalize their agreement on these Basic Principles, which will outline a comprehensive settlement.
