Germany, Berlin / Trend corr. A.Maharramli / The Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh should be resolved peacefully. Both countries have responsibilities before the Council of Europe concerning the peaceful settlement of the conflict, Varujan Nersian, the member of the Group of the Armenian Foreign Ministry on Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, said.
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 representatives from Nagorno-Karabakh should participate at the meetings hold by the PACE Monitoring Committee jointly with the German International and Security Issues Institute. According to Nersian, the conflict causes danger to Europe' security.
Nersian considers that the conflict should be settled by three stages. The first is to define the future status taking into consideration population rights for self-determination, the second - establishment of transport corridor through Lachin region between Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia, and guarantee for population security.