Baku, Azerbaijan, Sept. 19
By Seba Aghayeva - Trend:
The Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) called for the settlement of the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict within the territorial integrity, sovereignty and internationally recognized borders of Azerbaijan at the 17th Summit of Heads of State and Government held in Venezuela on September 13 – 18, 2016.
The Final Document adopted at the NAM summit also includes the paragraphs related to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
The heads of state and government of the NAM member-states expressed regret that despite the UN Security Council resolutions (S/RES/822, S/RES/853, S/RES/874, S/RES/884), the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict remains unresolved and continues to endanger international and regional peace and security.
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.
The summit reaffirmed the importance of the principle of non-use of force enshrined in the UN Charter.
The heads of state and government welcomed the offer of Azerbaijan to host the 18th NAM summit of the heads of state and government in 2019.
The Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) is an international organization bringing together 120 countries on the principles of non-participation in military blocs. The NAM was officially founded by 25 states at the Belgrade Conference in September 1961.
Azerbaijan became a NAM full member in 2011.