Azerbaijan

Finally, on July 10, 2009 following the summit of "The G-8» Akvill of Italy on behalf of co-chairing countries the text of “Madrid principles" was disseminated from Washington. Here are the main provisions of the document.

1. Return of the regions adjacent ot Nagorno-Karabakh under the control of Azerbaijan;

2. To guarantee the security and self-governing of Nagorno-Karabakh giving it the transition status;

3. The creation of the corridor linking Nagorno-Karabakh with Armenia;

4. The right of self determination with legal authority that will determine the final status of Nagorno-Karabakh;

5. The right of all refugees and displaced persons to return to areas of their previous living before the conflict;

6.  Providing of international security aiming the peacekeeping operations.

Since then, the "Madrid principles" renovated several times on the basis of proposals put forward in the negotiations by sides. Since the autumn of 2008 the negotiations has been continued with the Russian mediation.

On June 6, 2008, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev met with the newly elected President of Armenia Serzh Sargsian in St. Petersburg for talks on the settlement of the Karabakh conflict, within the framework of the CIS informal summit. The Presidents agreed to continue the peace process. Then Russian President Dmitry Medvedev laid the foundation for negotiations in trilateral format with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian President Serzh Sargsian. Up to 10 meetings held in this format.

The first negotiations in Aliyev, Sargsian, Medvedev format was held in Moscow on November 2, 2008, at the Russian president’s "Mein Dorf" residence. After the meeting, President Ilham Aliyev, Serzh Sargsian and Dmitry Medvedev signed a declaration on the peaceful settlement of Karabakh conflict. This was the first joint document signed during the process of negotiations between the parties to the conflict so far. Sides declared in the document consisting of five paragraphs that the sides will contribute to establishment of stability and security in the region and improving the situation in the South Caucasus by settling the conflict politically basing on principles and norms of international law, decisions and documents adopted within this framework. According to the Declaration, it will create favorable conditions for cooperation in the region and all-round economic development.

On January 28, 2009, the Presidents of Azerbaijan and Armenia Ilham Aliyev and Serzh Sargsian, met in Switzerland (Zurich) within the framework of the Davos Economic Forum and again discussed for the re-settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. At the meeting, the presidents agreed to continue the peace process.

The next meeting between the Azerbaijani and Armenian Presidents Ilham Aliyev and Serzh Sargsian was held on May 7, 2009 in Prague in the Czech capital. The meeting that took place in the U.S. Embassy in the Czech Republic has continued close to three hours. After the meeting, the representatives of the Minsk Group co-chairs gave optimistic disclosures to media. The mediators informed that the negotiations were constructive and the sides are close to agree on the basic principles on the settlement of the conflict.

In general, 2009 was the intensive phase at the negotiations on the settlement of Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. In the same year on June 4, the next meeting between the Azerbaijani and Armenian Presidents Ilham Aliyev and Serzh Sargsian was held in St. Petersburg. This meeting was 5th round of negotiations held for last one year between Presidents Aliyev and Sargsian. Presidents came together again in this format in Moscow on July 17, 2009. The negotiations were continued the next day at non-formal format.

On 8 October, 2009, in Moldova's capital Chisinau, next round of talks on Nagorno-Karabakh conflict was held between the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and Armenian President Serzh Sargsian within the framework of the CIS summit. In the same year on November 22 the next meeting between the presidents of Azerbaijan and Armenia took place in Munich, Germany. In this case, it was 8th meeting between President Ilham Aliyev and Serzh Sargsian and 6th meeting held during 2009. Talks in Aliyev-Sargsyan-Medvedev format continued in 2010.