Baku, Azerbaijan, Nov. 5
By Elchin Mehdiyev - Trend:
PACE's call to withdraw Armenian armed forces from Nagorno-Karabakh and other occupied territories of Azerbaijan is a direct result of the foreign policy pursued by Azerbaijan's president, said Samad Seyidov, head of Azerbaijani delegation to PACE.
Speaking to Trend Nov. 5, he said Armenians have always spread false statements on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, and on issues related to this problem.
"Recommendations of President Ilham Aliyev to pursue an offensive diplomacy in this direction were to be absolutely implemented," he said.
"We always stand as a party seeking to restore the rule of law throughout Europe in this regard," noted Seyidov.
In a draft resolution approved Nov. 4, the Political Affairs Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) called for the withdrawal of Armenian armed forces and other irregular armed forces from Nagorno-Karabakh and the other occupied territories of Azerbaijan, said the PACE website.
PACE also called for the establishment of full sovereignty of Azerbaijan in these territories, in the framework of the OSCE Minsk process.
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.
Edited by SI