France, Strasburg / Trend corr. A.Maharramli / The next meeting of Azerbaijani and Armenian parliamentarians will be held in Strasburg at the beginning of 2008, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) reported to the Trend Agency.
The meeting must be held through support of PACE Subcommittee on Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. The issue will be included in the agenda of the next visit of the head of the Subcommittee, Russell Johnston, to Azerbaijan and Armenia.
Pier Srgenda, the chairman of PACE 'Ago Group', engaged in controlling the fulfillment of responsibilities taken by Azerbaijan and Armenia joining the organization.
The Armenian and Azerbaijani parliamentarians met for the first time within the framework of the PACE session in January 2007. The sides agreed to start dialogue regarding Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and joint visits to the region in the near future.
The conflict between the two countries of the South Caucasus began in 1988 due to Armenian territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Since 1992, Armenian Armed Forces have 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.
The Subcommittee headed by Russell Johnston was founded to conduct PACE resolution 1416 passed on Nagorno-Karabakh in 2005.