Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 1
By Elchin Mehdiyev - Trend:
Azerbaijani Deputy Prime Minister, Deputy Chairman - Executive Secretary of the ruling New Azerbaijan party Ali Ahmadov expressed the hope that international organizations will be able to make a fair decision on the criminal case in connection with the Azerbaijani hostages.
Ahmadov was commenting on the appeal sent to the European Court in connection with Azerbaijani citizens Dilgam Asgarov, Shahbaz Guliyev and Hasan Hasanov, taken hostage by the Armenians in the Kalbajar district, as well as filing a criminal case by the Kalbajar district prosecutor's office regarding the murder of Hasan Hasanov.
"Azerbaijani lands are under occupation for more than 20 years," he said. "Despite the UN Security Council's four resolutions and decisions of international organizations, the Armenian side refuses to liberate the occupied lands of Azerbaijan. Therefore, even if the decisions, to be made by the international organizations, are fair, Azerbaijani people doubt that the Armenians will fulfill them."
"This once again demonstrated Armenia's aggressive position to the world," he said.
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 US are currently holding peace negotiations.
Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding regions.