Azerbaijan, Baku, June 15 / Trend, V. Javoronkova /
The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington will hold a conference June 24 on the "Development of the U.S. Strategy in the South Caucasus and the Caspian Basin," the CSIS reported.
Azerbaijan will be represented at the conference by Azerbaijani Democratic Reforms Party Chairman Asim Mollazade. Ariel Cohen, Frederick Starr, Svante Cornell, and others will also speak at the event.
"Washington will host a conference where I hope we can bring Azerbaijan's importance for U.S. strategic interests to the attention of the American public," Mollazade told Trend over phone.
According to the party head, "the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict will be a main topic for discussion at the conference." He noted that the conflict is a major obstacle for the region's development today.
"I hope that with the help of South Caucasus experts who are attending the conference, Azerbaijan's opinion will be brought to the attention of the American people," Mollazade 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 percent 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 United States - 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 region and the occupied territories.