Baku, Azerbaijan, Nov. 23
By Anvar Mammadov - Trend:
The cost of Armenian aggression against Azerbaijan grows every year, Nusret Ibrahimov, the member of the working group charged with assessing the damages caused to Azerbaijan as a result of Armenia's aggressive policy, told Trend.
"We have done more than half of work to estimate the damage caused to Azerbaijan by Armenia," said Ibrahimov. "But the damage increases every year, and our data is updated daily. This problem is quite big and it is difficult to solve in a particular period of time."
The purpose of calculating the damage is to demand compensation from Armenia and to raise this issue at the international level, he said.
As a result of Armenian aggression, Azerbaijan has lost libraries, mosques, shrines, historical monuments and museums, most of which have been destroyed.
Azerbaijani officials have previously stated that as a result of Armenia's aggressive policy, material, cultural and religious heritage of Azerbaijani people suffered tremendous losses.
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.
Ibrahimov went on to add that following the completion of work, all the documents related to the activities of the working group will be forwarded to the appropriate authorities for submission, and then presented to the world community.
"It is still too early to speak now at the global level about the recognition of the damage," said the member of the working group. "We have not finished our work yet and documents have not been considered by the government of Azerbaijan."
"First of all, it is necessary that the results of our work would be confirmed and become known in Azerbaijan," said the working group member. "Only after this, we can familiarize the whole world with this document."
Ibrahimov noted that the working group received great support, especially, technical assistance from foreign specialists.
"They shared their experience in conducting assessment, proper reporting and data collection method," he said. "We are grateful for help."
The total amount of the material damage to Azerbaijan as a result of the Armenian aggression is $818.88 billion, according to the preliminary report issued by the working group.
Edited by SI
---
Follow the author on Twitter: @Anvar_Mammadov