Baku, Azerbaijan, Dec. 6
By Gulgiz Muradova - Trend:
Pakistan will continue to extend its unequivocal support to Azerbaijan on the Nagorno-Karabakh issue, Pakistan's Foreign Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif said in an exclusive interview with Trend.
The minister noted that Pakistan has principled stand on the issue of Nagorno-Karabakh and has supported on this issue brotherly people of Azerbaijan at all forums.
"The Senate of Pakistan passed a resolution in 2012 declaring the ‘Khojaly massacre’ as a genocide, while the Foreign Relations Committee of the National Assembly of Pakistan passed a resolution calling for the withdrawal of Armenian forces from Nagorno-Karabakh," the minister added.
As for the Azerbaijan-Pakistan-Turkey trilateral format of cooperation, the minister said that the primary purpose of this format is of course to further augment the already existing cordial relations between the three countries.
"Pakistan has commonality of views on many regional and international issues with both countries. We unequivocally support each other on the issues of Jammu and Kashmir Dispute and Nagorno-Karabakh conflict," the minister said.
The minister also touched upon the military cooperation between Azerbaijan and Pakistan.
The two countries have excellent military cooperation and both countries have benefited from each other’s experiences and expertise, the minister said, further adding that Pakistan has offered training to officers of Azerbaijan armed forces.
"Pakistan has a well-established and technically advanced military-industrial complex and we look forward to have meaningful cooperation with Azerbaijan in this area as well," the minister said.
The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.
The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.
-
Follow the author on Twitter:@GulgizD