Baku, Azerbaijan, Sept. 12
Trend:
The first meeting of the contact group created within the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) on resolving the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict will be held during the upcoming session of the UN General Assembly.
The announcement was made during the meeting of Azerbaijan’s Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov with OIC Secretary General Iyad bin Amin Madani who is on a working visit to the country, Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry told Trend Sept.12.
During the meeting, the parties exchanged views on cooperation between Azerbaijan and OIC, the priority areas of this cooperation, bilateral relations with the organization’s member states and other issues of mutual interest.
OIC secretary general congratulated the Azerbaijani state and people with Eid al-Adha. He praised Azerbaijan’s active role and contribution to OIC’s work as the organization’s member.
Iyad bin Amin Madani emphasized that Azerbaijan preserves the multicultural traditions and religious values at a high level. He expressed confidence that the cooperation with Azerbaijan will continue further at a high level.
Mammadyarov, for his part, said that Azerbaijan attaches special importance to the development of relations with OIC. He pointed out that there is a favorable platform for further developing the bilateral and multilateral relations with OIC member states.
The foreign minister provided detailed information about the status of the talks on resolving the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, expressed gratitude to the OIC secretary general and member states for supporting Azerbaijan’s fair position in this conflict. He expressed confidence that the creation and activities of the contact group will contribute to the conflict’s settlement.
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.
Further, Iyad bin Amin Madani expressed gratitude to Azerbaijan for its initiative to hold Islamic Solidarity Games in 2017.
Mammadyarov noted that as an active member of OIC, Azerbaijan will continue to make contribution to the fulfillment of the tasks on the organization’s agenda.
During the meeting, the parties also emphasized the necessity of strengthening the Islamic solidarity within the organization.