Baku, Azerbaijan, Nov. 15
By Seba Aghayeva – Trend:
Armenia is responsible for launching the war against Azerbaijan, using force against the country, occupation of its territories, ethnic cleansing and other serious crimes, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov said in an interview with Spanish EFE news agency.
“The sooner Armenia withdraws its troops from the occupied Azerbaijani territories, the sooner the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict will be resolved,” he said. “The peaceful settlement of the conflict is impossible until then.”
“Armenia does not fulfill the UN Security Council’s resolutions on the conflict settlement,” the minister said. “Moreover, Armenia resorts to the armed provocations against Azerbaijan.”
“The settlement of the conflict in accordance with the UN Security Council’s resolutions will create prospects for Armenia and its population to cooperate and benefit from the economic development,” Mammadyarov said.
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.