Azerbaijan’s Foreign Minister Elmar Mamedyarov said this week that Baku accepts the updated version of the so-called Madrid principles of Karabakh settlement and expressed a hope that Armenia will also agree to them and the sides will go over to the elaboration of a “Big Agreement”.

The leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan, Serzh Sargsyan and Ilham Aliyev, last met in Sochi on January 25, with the mediation of the Russian president. Before that the cochairmen of the OSCE Minsk Group (Russia, USA and France) presented to the sides the “updated” Madrid principles of Karabakh settlement and gave them two weeks to formulate their positions.

Commenting on the statement made by his Azerbaijani counterpart, Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandyan said that Armenia is in the process of developing its proposals and observations and expects Azerbaijan also to make its proposals.

The Madrid principles imply the withdrawal of Armenian troops from the territories outside Nagorno-Karabakh proper controlled by Armenian forces, introduction of peacekeepers, return of refugees and an interim status for Karabakh with a subsequent “legally binding expression of will.”

In his speech at the Chatham House British Royal Institute of International Affairs in London last week Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan said that he would not agree do concessions that would jeopardize the security of Karabakh. He also warned that renewed hostilities in Karabakh would pose a danger to regional security as a whole and to “foreign investors who heavily invested in regional projects”. Sargsyan, in particular, made it clear that Karabakh cold not return to Azerbaijan’s control, but he did not specify his thoughts on the Armenian-controlled territories around Nagorno-Karabakh and “updated details” of the Madrid principles.

Meanwhile, the period since the January meeting between the presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan has been marked by continued war rhetoric from Azerbaijan and analytical predictions about the likelihood of resumed hostilities. The chief of US national intelligence also spoke about a higher likelihood of a new war in Karabakh.

Sources in Karabakh report that a large amassing of forces is observed on the border with Azerbaijan. They insist that actions on the Azerbaijani side look like preparations for war.

After meeting the visiting OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Kanat Daudabekov in Yerevan on February 16, Karabakh President Bako Sahakyan said that one should not pay attention to Azerbaijan’s threats.