Baku, Azerbaijan, June 30
Trend:
Any status of Nagorno-Karabakh out of Azerbaijan's territorial integrity is not a topic of discussion, Hikmet Hajiyev, spokesman for Azerbaijan's Foreign Ministry, told Trend June 30.
He was commenting on the statement by Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian that the status of Nagorno-Karabakh is not a topic of discussion.
"International community recognized and supported the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Azerbaijan within its internationally recognized borders," said Hajiyev. "The UN Security Council's resolutions 822, 853, 874 and 884 indicate that Nagorno-Karabakh is an integral part of Azerbaijan and it is unacceptable to use force to occupy territories."
"To resolve the conflict, the Armenian armed forces should be fully and unconditionally withdrawn from the occupied territories of Azerbaijan," he added.
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.