Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug. 12
By Orkhan Guluzade – Trend:
Turkey, as before, supports Azerbaijan in the settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Turkish Ambassador in Baku Ismail Alper Coskun told reporters Aug. 12.
Coskun said Turkey is a member of the OSCE Minsk Group and stands for the conflict’s settlement.
The diplomat believes that the conflict’s resolution will be beneficial not only for Azerbaijan, but also for Russia and Armenia.
“The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict’s settlement will contribute to establishing stability in the region,” noted the ambassador.
“Ankara, normalizing the relations with Russia, can start a dialogue with Moscow on the settlement of the conflict,” Coskun added.
The envoy also noted that Azerbaijan is an important country for Turkey.
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.
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