Baku, Azerbaijan, March 14
By Elchin Mehdiyev - Trend:
The settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and other conflicts remains on the agenda of the international community, Deputy Foreign Minister, State Secretary for Strategic Affairs of Romania, Bogdan Aurescu, told journalists on March 14 during his visit to Baku.
"We don't want the situation in Crimea to create a ring of frozen and ongoing conflicts around the Black Sea - such as Crimean and Transdniestrian conflict, breakaway regions in Georgia and Nagorno-Karabakh. Therefore the dialogue on this issue and international attention to these conflicts is very important," Aurescu said.
Currently, the situation in the Crimea is very tense, and therefore the international community is discussing this issue, according to the deputy minister.
"But it does not mean that other frozen conflicts, including the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict have been forgotten. On the contrary, I believe that the situation in Ukraine will even attract more international attention to the solution of other conflicts and will intensify the efforts to settle them," the state secretary said.
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.
Translated by L.Z.
Edited by C.N.