Baku, Azerbaijan, July 11
Trend:
"Baku 2015: Support for the first European Games" civil society coalition issued a statement in connection with the visit of Bako Sahakyan, the head of the separatist regime, to Great Britain.
The statement expressed concern about Sahakyan's visit and his statement made at the British Chatham House Institute.
"This can not contribute to the settlement of Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict," the statement said. "On the contrary, this will have a negative impact on the negotiation process."
A civil society coalition urged Europe and the entire world to abandon the double standards in relation to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
"The Azerbaijani side is doing its best to resolve the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict through the OSCE Minsk Group," the statement said. "However, the use of double standards hinders the peaceful settlement of the conflict."
In its statement, the coalition said that such visits are contrary to all norms of international law.
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 the UN Security Council's four resolutions on the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding regions.