Baku, Azerbaijan, Sept. 30
Trend:
The foreign ministries of Azerbaijan and Paraguay signed a Memorandum of Understanding to conduct political consultations, the Azerbaijani foreign ministry said Sept. 30.
The memorandum was signed at a meeting of Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov with his Paraguayan counterpart Eladio Loizaga as part of the 70th session of the UN General Assembly.
It was stressed during the meeting that Azerbaijan and Paraguay have good opportunities for cooperation in various fields.
Moreover, the importance of mutual visits and political consultations between the foreign ministries of the two countries was stressed.
The views on the activity of Paraguay in Mercosur [a sub-regional trade-economic union including Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay; Bolivia and Chile are the associate members], Azerbaijan's relations with Latin American countries, as well as the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict were exchanged during the meeting.
Mammadyarov informed Loizaga about the current situation in the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Armenia's non-constructive position in the negotiation process.
Mammadyarov stressed the importance of the declaration adopted by the Chamber of Deputies of the National Congress (lower house of parliament) of Paraguay on September 10, 2015.
He also invited his Paraguayan counterpart to visit Azerbaijan. Thanking for the invitation, Loizaga invited Mammadyarov to visit Paraguay.
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 two countries signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group, Russia, France and the US are currently holding peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented the UN Security Council's four resolutions on the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding regions.
Edited by CN