Azerbaijan, Baku /corr. Trend I.Alizade / On 20 September in Baku, the Head of the Azerbaijani delegation to PACE, Samad Seyidov, said that the Azerbaijani delegation to PACE will release a document reflecting Azerbaijan's position on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict during the autumn session of the organization. He said that the delegation is currently devising the documents.
The conflict between the two countries of South Caucasus began in 1988 due to territorial claims by Armenia against Azerbaijan. Since 1992, Armenia has occupied 20% of Azerbaijan including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and its seven surrounding districts. 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 the US) are currently holding peaceful negotiations.
In 2005, PACE passed a resolution on Nagorno-Karabakh. The resolution highlights the danger of the unresolved conflict. "Such issues will be touched upon in our document," Seyidov said.
He said that the agenda of PACE will not include questions regarding Azerbaijan, but the problems that will be discussed are important for the country. "Therefore, the Azerbaijani delegation will participate in the committees and political groups. We will spread a number of documents among PACE attendees. Currently the delegation is working on the documents. These documents regard the problems of Azerbaijan, but firstly it needs to collect the signatures of PACE deputies," Seyidov said.
The meeting of the PACE Ad Hoc Committee on Nagorno-Karabakh may take place within the autumn session. According to Seyidov, the Chairman of the Ad Hoc Committee, the parliamentarian from Great Britain, Lord Russell Johnston, retired and therefore a new elected chairman is needed. The meeting of the Committee may take place, but it is not yet confirmed, Seyidv said.
The PACE autumn session will take place at the end of September and beginning of October in Strasburg.