YEREVAN, AUGUST 24, ARMENPRESS. The Nagorno Karabakh conflict continued for decades, if not for centuries, OSCE Minsk Group acting US Co-Chair Richard Hoagland said at a press club of foreign reporters in Washington, Voice of America reports.

“This issue has not started after the independence of the former Soviet countries. Nagorno Karabakh was a conflict that continued for decades, if not for centuries”, Hoagland said.

He presented 6 main points for the settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict which have been voiced by former US Co-Chair James Warlick in 2014. “Taking into account the complicated history of Nagorno Karabakh, the sides need to define its final legal status with mutual consent and legally binding expression of will”, he said, referring also to the area which is not controlled by Baku and is within the borders of the former Nagorno Karabakh Autonomous Region, the security zone across Nagorno Karabakh, the corridor connecting Armenia with Nagorno Karabakh which must be quite large for ensuring safe transportations, the right of the displaced persons and refugees.

It was stated that the settlement should include international security guarantees that will also include peacekeeping measures. “There is no scenario where peace can be ensured without well-prepared peaceful actions that enjoy the trust of all sides”, stated in the points.

Hoagland said the common policy of international mediators is presented in those points, they are based on the Madrid principles which are at the core of the document put on the negotiation table. “This is a long-term policy, it is not linked with this or that Co-Chair, this is our common policy. Of course, the proposed program is more detailed and extensive, however, this is the base for any reasonable settlement, and all sides agree on this issue”.

As for the stance of the conflicting sides, Richard Hoagland stated: “Even if they don’t agree with separate points of the proposed program, they still agree to discuss it, and I think now it’s important”.

During the meeting the Azerbaijani reporters were concerned that the points presented by the Ambassador do not clearly mention the principle of Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity, which, according to the Ambassador, must be discussed.

“The basis of peace should be in accordance with the Helsinki principles that include the principle of territorial integrity [including also the principles of peoples’ self-determination, non-use of force and threat of force]. Territorial integrity formulation is missed: this issue should be discussed at the end”, he said.