Baku, Azerbaijan, Apr.29
By Seba Aghayeva - Trend:
Malta supports the peaceful settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Malta's Foreign Minister George William Vella said Apr.29 in Baku.
Vella made the remarks during the press conference with his Azerbaijani counterpart Elmar Mammadyarov.
"We are concerned over the escalation of the situation on the line of contact and support the continuation of the peace talks," he said. "The military operations should be stopped."
Malta supports the efforts of the OSCE Minsk Group in the conflict's settlement, Vella added.
He pointed out that Malta supports Azerbaijan's territorial integrity and sovereignty.
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 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations.
Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.