Baku, Azerbaijan, May 13
By Elchin Mehdiyev - Trend:
The world community has started to realize that the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is the region's biggest threat, and it focuses on the importance of the conflict's settlement, Bahar Muradova, the vice-speaker of Azerbaijan's parliament, said.
She made the remarks May 13 during the hearings in the Azerbaijani parliament on the "Recent developments on the line of contact: Problems of the international humanitarian law."
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.
Muradova said that everyone is aware of Armenia's actions on the contact line of the country's and Azerbaijani troops.
"The Armenian side is taking consistent and purposeful steps, inciting Azerbaijan and its supporter countries and by continuing aggressive policy carries out drills in Azerbaijan's territory with the participation of Armenian servicemen," said the vice-speaker.
Armenia destroys cultural monuments of Azerbaijan on the occupied territories, Muradova said.
"People were killed, property was damaged as a result of the criminal actions of the Armenian side in early April," Muradova said. "Azerbaijani army launched a counter-offensive in order to prevent these actions, and the country regained control over a part of its territory. The myth of the Armenian army was destroyed, processes undesirable for the Armenian government began, there started to appear statements in Armenia that no one needs the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict."
"This confirms the fact that the conflict should be resolved," said the vice-speaker. "Armenians living in Nagorno-Karabakh region are citizens of Azerbaijan. We need to solve their problems as well, free them from the power of the Armenian leadership, ensure the return of refugees and internally displaced persons to their native lands. Azerbaijan is able to respond and will do so regarding all the provocations by Armenia."