Baku, Azerbaijan, May 23
By Emin Aliyev - Trend:
It is impossible to visit the country's territory without the permission of its authorities, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov said at a meeting of the PACE Standing Committee in Baku on May 23.
Azerbaijan has repeatedly stated that it is impossible to visit the occupied Nagorno-Karabakh without the country's permission.
"Nagorno-Karabakh is Azerbaijan's territory, so we include those who violate this regulation and visit Nagorno-Karabakh without the Azerbaijani authorities' permission in a list of people declared personae non gratae," he said. "After a person explains the reason, we can reconsider this person's inclusion in the list."
The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.
The two countries signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group, Russia, France and the U.S. are currently holding peace negotiations.
Armenia has not yet implemented the U.N. Security Council's four resolutions on the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding regions.
edited by S.I.