On May 21 in the framework of the visit to the United Kingdom, the Minister of Foreign Affairs Edward Nalbandian had an extensive speech on Armenian Foreign Policy at the Oxford University. The event was attended by lecturers, students, experts and analysts of the prestigious educational centre.

In his speech and answers to the questions Minister Nalbandian introduced the British-Armenian relations, the objectives and results of his visit to the United Kingdom, the priorities of Armenian Chairmanship in the Council of Europe, the integration processes in the post-Soviet area, Armenia-EU cooperation, the Armenian position towards a number of international and regional problems.

Regarding the Karabakh issue, Edward Nalbandian particularly said the following:
"In conformity with the existing Soviet legislation in December, 1991 Nagorno-Karabakh held a referendum as a result of which its population voted for the independence of Nagorno-Karabakh. The European Parliament stated on this occasion that the Nagorno-Karabakh proclaimed its independence following similar declarations by former Soviet Socialist republics, including Azerbaijan, after the collapse of the USSR. Baku responded with pogroms against Armenians, ethnic cleansings, then large scale war against Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia, using mercenaries closely linked to international terrorist organizations.

Before the establishment of a ceasefire, in 1993 the UN Security Council adopted 4 resolutions (822, 853, 874, 884). The core requirement of the UN SC resolutions was the immediate cessation of all hostilities and hostile acts and the establishment of a durable cease-fire. Azerbaijan continuously rejected this requirement after the adoption of each resolution, and persistently carried on the military activities.

In May 1994 a ceasefire agreement was signed by Nagorno-Karabakh and Azerbaijan, joined by Armenia and mediated Russia. In February 1995 a new ceasefire consolidation agreement was signed by Azerbaijan and Nagorno-Karabakh, joined by Armenia, which has not been respected by Azerbaijan since then.

Since 1997 the negotiation process is conducted within the framework of mediation by three OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chair countries – Russia, USA and France.

The international community has mandated the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chair countries to conduct mediation for the settlement of the Karabakh issue. The Co-Chairs have put considerable efforts in two main dimensions.
• Finalizing the Basic Principles
• Establishing confidence-building measures
In November 2007, during OSCE Ministerial Conference the Co-Chairs handed over to the sides the main principles of the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, the so called “Madrid proposals”.

For about a year Azerbaijan rejected the very existence of the Madrid Principles and continued to make efforts to undermine the negotiation process by taking the issue to other platforms.

Particularly Azerbaijan introduced a draft resolution in the UN General Assembly in 2008, which was mostly reflecting Azerbaijan's perception of the conflict. The resolution was passed with only 39 votes (mainly members of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference) out of 192 UN member states. The three Co-Chairs - the USA, Russia and France voted against it and all the EU member states, including The United Kingdom, abstained from voting.

In L'Aquila (2009) and in Muskoka (2010) the Presidents of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chair countries made statements and publicized the Basic Principles and the elements proposed by them.

In Deauville (2011) and in Los Cabos (2012) the Presidents of the Co-Chair countries made references to their previous statements stressing the need for exclusively peaceful settlement of the problem.

Statements on Nagorno-Karabakh conflict were adopted in the framework of the OSCE Ministerial Conferences in Helsinki (2008), Athens (2009), Almaty (2010), Vilnius (2011), Dublin (2012) and during the OSCE Summit in Astana (2010).

Armenia welcomed all the above mentioned statements and expressed readiness to go to the settlement on the basis of the proposals contained in those statements, which according to the Co-Chairs conceived as an integrated whole.

Unlike Armenia, Azerbaijan up to now has never accepted the Basic Principles entirely.
Instead of accepting the proposals Baku makes simple attempts to refer only the phrase concerning the inadmissibility of the status quo, which is included in the statements mentioned above. If Azerbaijan really against maintaining the status quo then it would have already accepted the proposals made by the Co-Chairs.

The President of the Russian Federation (with the full support of the two other OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs – France and USA) initiated from June 2008 till January 2012 eleven meetings with the Presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan with an aim to finalize the Basic Principles. During those meetings renewed versions of the Basic Principles were discussed.

Baku rejected all versions of the Basic Principles proposed by the Co-Chairs of the Minsk Group, including the latest versions presented at the Kazan Summit (June2011), but also in Sochi (March 2011), Astrakhan (October 2011), Saint Petersburg (June 2010) etc.

Azerbaijani side pretends that it has accepted the version proposed in December 2009, naming it the only "renewed" version. It may seem that the other versions are old versions. But let me remind that even for the 2009 version Azerbaijan had had a number of reservations and changes, as it happened for all other versions.

Baku rejected not only all proposals of the Basic Principles, but also confidence-building measures proposed by the Minsk Group Co-Chairs with the full support of the international community, including consolidation of ceasefire, withdrawal of the snipers from the line of contact and the establishment of a mechanism for the investigation of the ceasefire violations.

Azerbaijan not only rejects to take any of the proposed confidence-building measures, but also periodically organizes provocations on the line of contact with Nagorno-Karabakh and on the border with Armenia, which in some cases results in new casualties from all sides.
Although the Co-Chairs call the parties to prepare their populations for peace, not for war, the Azerbaijani authorities on the highest level are increasing arms race, threats of war, warmongering and anti-Armenian hate speech.

The most cynical provocation was in August 2012, when the Azerbaijani government released and glorified the murderer Ramil Safarov after his extradition from Hungary.
Most recently Azerbaijan on national level has ostracized the Azerbaijani writer Akram Aylisli, for talking in his novel inter alia about the pogroms against Armenians in Azerbaijan
The books of Aylisli were publicly burnt and a ransom was promised to anyone who could cut the writer’s ear. The writer was forced to seek asylum outside the country.

Regardless of Azerbaijan’s provocative and destructive policy, Armenia, together with the international community, will continue its efforts towards the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict exclusively through peaceful means".