"The main goal of the negotiations held in Prague in 2004 was for Armenia to withdraw from Azerbaijani territories peacefully."
Modern.az reports that this was stated by Azerbaijan's former Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov while commenting on the negotiations held with Armenia in 2003-2004, during the "Contact Line" program broadcast on Public Television.
"During the meetings in Prague in 2004, both with the co-chairs and with the Foreign Minister of Armenia, we first stated that the resolutions of the UN Security Council should be taken as a basis. A mechanism should have been established based on them for Armenia to withdraw its troops from Azerbaijani territories peacefully," the former minister noted.
Elmar Mammadyarov emphasized that the essence of the Prague process, which took place during that period, was based on the principles of independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity:
"Our position was that negotiations should be conducted within the framework of independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity. As the great leader Heydar Aliyev once said, we were ready to grant the highest level of autonomy to Armenians living in Karabakh, but within the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan. The discussions were based on the "Madrid Principles" model."
The former minister added that during the meeting between Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian President Robert Kocharyan at that time, disagreements arose between the parties:
"Mr. President informed me that the world wanted Armenia to take a position within its territorial integrity, and Kocharyan understood this. Therefore, he began to refuse the process, but he did not do it openly; he was afraid. Because there were pressures from Russia, the USA, and France. The co-chairs wanted to prolong the process – as if they intended to turn it into an endless process."
Elmar Mammadyarov also said that he recalled the meeting held in Paris with Armenia's then Foreign Minister Edvard Nalbandyan:
"Nalbandyan told me: "Believe me, Elmar, there is a lot of pressure on us for Armenia to recognize the independence of Karabakh." And I replied: "If you want to recognize it, recognize it, but then how will you face the USA, Russia, and France?" Because this would mean the complete halt of the peace process."
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