Details added, first version posted at 16:56
Azerbaijan, Baku, April 2 / Trend M. Aliyev /
It's time for a breakthrough in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov said on Monday at a meeting of the Committee on Political Affairs, Human Rights and Democracy of the Euronest Parliamentary Assembly during the second session of the organization held in Baku.
The fact of occupation of Azerbaijani lands by Armenians exists, it has been recognized at international level, the minister noted.
"It is impossible to drive people out of their lands, and then speak on status. Return of these people to their land is necessary to speak on any status," Mammadyarov said.
He said the OSCE Minsk Group continues to work to resolve the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. "We seek to strengthen the will of the parties to the conflict to resolve the problem. Co-chairs of the Minsk Group came to the conclusion that the status quo is unacceptable," said the minister.
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 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.