France, Strasburg /corr. Trend A. Maharremli, I. Alizade / The Chairman of the Council of Europe's Committee of Ministers condemns the acts of arson in Armenian-occupied Azerbaijani lands as well as the frequent breaks in the ceasefire agreement along the line of contact. The Chairman of the Council of Europe's Committee of Ministers and Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Eremich, highlighted the condemnation on 4 October as a response to the written request of the member of the Azerbaijani delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), MP Ganira Pashayeva.
The conflict between the two countries of the South Caucasus began in 1988 due to territorial claims by Armenia against Azerbaijan. Since 1992, Armenian Armed Forces have occupied 20% of Azerbaijani land 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.
Pashayeva sent a request to the Council of Europe's Committee of Ministers with regards to the acts of arson in Armenian-occupied Azerbaijan and the frequent breakings of the ceasefire agreement by the Armenian Armed Forces. In both her requests, Pashayeva questioned what the Committee of Ministers can do to prevent the situation.
"I expressed my position in July, answering the question of Pashayeva regarding the 'presidential election' in the so-called Nagorno-Karabakh Republic. These actions adversely affect the negotiations process. We condemn it," said the Chairman of the Committee.
According to him, the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict presents obstacles to the development of the South Caucasus region and the Committee of Ministers supports a peaceful and fair solution to the conflict. The Serbian Minister calls on the conflicting sides to not to apply force. "Using force may provide the opposite effect," he said.
Eremich said that the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict settlement is processed by the OSCE Minsk Group. And that Armenia's actions have negatively affected the negotiations process. He said that the Council of Europe may make its contribution in re-establishing a reliable atmosphere between the conflicting sides and resolving the conflict.