Azerbaijan, Baku, Dec. 20th / Trend, H. Valiyev /
The deployment of telecommunications services in Nagorno-Karabakh is illegal and cannot be done without permission from Azerbaijan, Azerbaijani Ministry of Communications and Information Technologies told Trend on Thursday, commenting on the statement of Rostelecom Vice-President Naum Marder about the possibility of launching telecommunication services in the occupied territories made during his visit to Yerevan.
The ministry said there were many cases in which companies deployed their services in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan.
"In this regard, the Azerbaijani government made official statements about the inadmissibility of such steps without the permission of Azerbaijan. In many cases, the activities of these companies were terminated," the ministry said.
Earlier Armenian mass media spread information about the possibility of the deployment of operating services in the occupied territories of Nagorno-Karabakh, referencing Rostelecom's (Russia's largest operator) Vice President Naum Marder.
The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Armenian armed forces have occupied 20% 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 regarding the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding regions.