Baku, Azerbaijan, Apr. 7
Trend:
Independent Franch journalist Romain Mielcarek visited the Azerbaijani territories occupied by Armenia observing the laws of Azerbaijan.
The French journalist appealed to Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry for accreditation and permission to travel to the occupied territories for journalism activities, said the ministry’s Spokesman Hikmat Hajiyev.
Hajiyev noted that the French journalist was Azerbaijan on March 3-7, visited the line of contact, met with refugees and IDPs, obtained information about the position of the Azerbaijani side, and visited the occupied territories on March 19-20.
The journalist, in his letter sent to the Azerbaijani ministry, noted that he respects the territorial integrity, sovereignty and laws of Azerbaijan, and guaranteed that he won’t illegally visit the occupied territories in the future.
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.