PACE formal member: Nagorno-Karabakh conflict impedes region’s normal development

Azerbaijan, Baku, June 8 / Trend A.Hasanov /

Europe sees the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict as its own problem, a former member of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe and the German Bundestag, Eduard Lintner, said at a meeting with Minister of Agriculture of Azerbaijan Ismet Abasov.

"This conflict does not allow the region to develop normally, and we see that it is not a frozen, but a 'hot' conflict," Lintner said.

He noted that two years ago, the European Parliament adopted a declaration which recognizes the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan, and that Lintner and other participants in the meeting support the position of Azerbaijan on this issue.

In turn, Minister of Agriculture of Azerbaijan Ismet Abasov noted that the fact of occupation of Azerbaijani lands does not allow to use fully the whole agricultural potential of the country.

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.

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