YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 17, NOYAN TAPAN. Commenting on the February 15 statement of Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Mamedyarov who declared that he sees the future status of Nagorno Karabakh as part of Azerbaijan and that the main issue is solution of the problem of "occupied territories" and the return of refugees to their homes, Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian said: "The important thing is not who sees and how he sees, but who decides. The people of Nagorno Karabakh decides this issue. This is also clearly stated in some parts of the Madrid document which was published in L'Aquila immediately after the statement of the presidents of Russia, the U.S. and France. If Azerbajian opposes this fundamental approach, in fact it hinders the settlement process. It also hinders the settlement by opposing Karabakh's participation in the negotiations because it is impossible to promote the settlement without Karabakh's direct participation". As regards elimination of the consequences of the conflict, according to E. Nalbandian, it is necessary to take into account that the issue of territories in Martakert, Martuni and Shahumian regions occupied by Azerbaijan and the return of refugees to these regions should be solved as well. "And of course, the problem of elimination of the conflict consequences should be solved in parallel with the causes of the conflict. All these issues should be solved peacefully, through negotiations and based on mutual agreement," the Armenian foreign minister stated.

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