Azerbaijan, Baku, March 16 / Trend E.Tariverdiyeva /
A roundtable on Azerbaijan's cooperation with the Euro-Atlantic community was held in Brussels on March 16, said James Appathurai, NATO Secretary General's Special Representative for the Caucasus and Central Asia.
"Three clear points emerged: 1) Azerbaijan is a growing country, that is determined to make a growing contribution to international security; b) NATO and the EU are committed to help
Azerbaijan with its own reforms, as we are with other valued regional partners as well; 3) there is real concern in the international community about the stagnation in the N-K peace process, and the level of arms being acquired by Armenia and Azerbaijan," Appathurai 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.