In 2008, almost a year after the co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group presented the Madrid principles of Nagorno-Karabakh settlement to Armenia and Azerbaijan. on November 2, Russian President Medvedev invited the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan to Moscow.
As a result of the negotiations, the parties signed a tripartite document named “Mayendorf Declaration”, consisting of five points.
From the analysis of the declaration, it becomes clear that the parties do not recognize the Nagorno-Karabakh problem, there is a Karabakh conflict that hinders the establishment of a stable and safe situation in the South Caucasus, comprehensive counter-cooperation and economic development in the region, and it must be regulated in accordance with the norms and principles of international law and those adopted within these frameworks. on the basis of decisions and documents. There is no other decision regarding the Karabakh conflict than the four resolutions of the UN Security Council.
The parties confirm the importance of continuing the mediation of the OSCE Minsk Group, taking into account the 2007 agreement with the parties. their meeting on November 29 and further discussions aimed at developing the main principles of political settlement. In fact, it is recorded that the Madrid principles are not a “judgment”, but must be agreed upon in further discussions, about which the presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan give instructions to the foreign ministers.
The Mayendorf declaration was signed three months after the Russo-Georgian war, when the geopolitical contradictions between the OSCE Minsk Group co-chair countries were already revealed. It is very remarkable that Russian-Georgian war was preceded by the visit of Russian President Medvedev to Baku.
A certain “decoding” of the Mayendorf declaration is fundamental. at that stage, the moderation of the Armenian-Azerbaijani negotiations passed from the West to Russia. Maybe it was a behind-the-scenes arrangement between the US-Russia-France, maybe it was an “aggressive” initiative by Moscow – it’s hard to find out. But the principle of regional settlement, not the Nagorno Karabakh problem, was defined in Mayendorf is a recorded reality.
In other words, the opening of the geopolitical potential of the South Caucasus has been recognized as a priority, Armenia has accepted that there is a Karabakh conflict that is hindering it. In terms of methodology, South Caucasian stability, cooperation, and mutual trust were not assessed as a precondition for the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, but actually the problem of defining the geopolitical status quo of the South Caucasus through the settlement of the Karabakh conflict was set.
In terms of the balance of forces, naturally, Azerbaijan was completely satisfied with this priority. Especially since the decisions made within the norms and principles of international law regarding the Karabakh conflict were recognized as the basis of political settlement, and the internationally agreed concept of settlement was one: return of territories around Nagorno-Karabakh without preconditions, and in the second stage, clarification of the status.
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