Azerbaijan, Baku, July 22 / Trend , A.Huseynbala/
The Azerbaijani community of Nagorno-Karabakh is ready to meet with the region's Armenian community.
"All wars result in the signing of a peace agreement. If we want to resolve the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict in a peaceful way, we should make use of all our opportunities," the Head of the Azerbaijani Community of Nagorno-Karabakh, Bayram Safarov told Trend on July 22.
The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Armenian armed forces have occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan since 1992, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and 7 surrounding districts. Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group - Russia, France, and the U.S. - are currently holding the peace negotiations.
The Public Union of the "Azerbaijani community of Nagorno-Karabakh" was chaired by Nizami Bahmanov, who died on Sept. 13, 2008. Bahmanov represented the community in peace negotiations led by OSCE Minsk Group as the head of the Shusha City Administration. As the Azerbaijani people comprised the majority of Shusha city's population, the head of the Shusha City Administration receives the status of the Head of the Community.
Safarov said that if the Azerbaijani President agrees, the Azerbaijani community will be ready to meet with the Armenian community of Nagorno-Karabakh. "All countries recognize the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan. Nagorno-Karabakh is our native land. We must use each chance to return to our native home. We should take the necessary measures to solve the conflict," the head of the community said.
The regular reciprocal visits of leaders and the awaited meeting of the communities can only have a positive impact on the negotiation process to settle the conflict by a peaceful process, which is being carried out by the presidents, he said.
The first congress of the Azerbaijani community of Nagorno-Karabakh took place on June 5. At the meeting, the Public Union of the "Azerbaijani Community of Nagorno-Karabakh" was renamed the Public Union of the "Azerbaijani Community of the Nagorno-Karabakh Region of the Azerbaijan Republic". After this the Head of the Shusha City Administration, Bayram Safarov, was elected Head of the Community.
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