Azerbaijan, Baku / Тrend corr E. Huseynli / Armenia placed a good part of the unregistered military arsenal in the occupied Azerbaijani territory, Azerbaijani Defence Minister, Colonel-General Safar Abiyev, said at the meeting with the delegation headed by the Co-Chair of the EU Inter-parliamentary Committee on Cooperation with South Caucasus Ms. Marie Anne Isler Beguin on 13 September.
" Armenia continues its aggressive and occupational policy against Azerbaijan and that increases tension in the region. Armenia has violated the requirements stipulated in the Agreement on Conventional Military Forces in Europe and purchased more weapons and ammunition than it was envisaged. International organizations, including the European Union, should openly state their positions with regard to this issue," Abiyev said.
The conflict between the two countries of South Caucasus began in 1988 due to territorial claims by Armenia against Azerbaijan. Armenia has occupied 20% of the Azerbaijani land including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and its seven surrounding Districts. Since 1992, these territories have been under the occupation of the Armenian Forces. In 1994, Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement at which time the active hostilities ended. The Co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group ( Russia, France and USA) are currently holding peaceful negotiations.
According to the Defence Minister, Azerbaijan could take force measures to settle the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. "We prefer to settle the conflict in a peaceful way but our patience is not eternal. Azerbaijan can guarantee its territorial integrity both politically and military," he said.
Ms Marie Anne Isler Beguin said she had been informed of the relationships between Azerbaijan and Armenia and the threats to Azerbaijan from the neighbouring country .