Madrid principles 'undermine Armenia's positions' over Karabakh - opinion  

Armenia will face a tough choice in the peace process over Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh) should the negotiations over the 2007 Madrid Principles keep going in the same way, according to Hayk Martirosyan, a political analyst.  

''I don't think the incumbent authorities intend to cede any territory today, but I do see that this government will have to face the tough choice should they continue the negotiations over the Madrid Principles,'' he said at a news conference.

The analyst also questioned the effectiveness of the OSCE Minsk Group format. ''If I were the prime minister [of Armenia], I would declare that Armenia is exiting the format - which hasn't absokutely met our expectations. The format is leading us to a war, a scenario Armenia is totally unprepared for today; nor is it ready to cede any land,'' he said, admitting at the same time Azerbaijan's  ''inevitably belligerent intentions''.

''They wouldn't be spending billions of dollars otherwise. Continuing the negotiations over the Madrid Principles, Armenia is undermining its position in the sense that it is committing itself to handing over those territories. So if it doesn't – at any moment in the future – it will morally suffer a crushing defeat,'' Martirosyan said.