Azerbaijan, Baku, November 15 / Trend, E. Huseynli /
Official Baku thinks it is acceptable to arrange a meeting between the Azerbaijani and Armenian communes of Nagorno Karabakh.
"Any way, which may help contribute to resolution of the Nagorno Karabakh problem, including a meeting between the Azerbaijani and Armenian communes of Nagorno Karabakh is acceptable and must receive backing. We should welcome any activity that leads to settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh problem and creates conditions for its negotiated solution," Ali Hasanov, Head of the Public and Political Department of the Azerbaijani Presidential Administration, told Trend on Tuesday.
A meeting between the Azerbaijani and Armenian communes of Nagorno Karabakh is scheduled to take place in Berlin, Germany on November 28, MP Rovshan Rzayev, member of public association "Azerbaijani Commune of Nagorno Karabakh", reported last week.
Ali Hasanov said discussions between the two communes are popular diplomacy.
"A meeting of two communes or intelligentsia representatives of the two countries is one of the means of a negotiated solution of the Nagorno Karabakh problem. Any action that may induce for a negotiated solution of the conflict should be welcomed," Hasanov noted.
The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Armenian armed forces have occupied 20 per cent of Azerbaijan since 1992, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven 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.
Armenia has not yet implemented the U.N. Security Council's four resolutions on the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding regions.