Azerbaijan, Baku / Тrend corr E. Huseynli / If peaceful negotiations on the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict do not give concrete results, Azerbaijan will choose other ways to restore its territorial integrity, the Azerbaijani Defence Minister, Colonel-General Safar Abiyev said during his meeting with the newly-appointed British Ambassador to Azerbaijan Dr Carolyn Browne on 15 November.
According to the Minister, Armenia can no longer occupy 20% of Azerbaijani land.
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 active hostilities ended. The Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group ( Russia, France, and the US) are currently holding peaceful negotiations.
Azerbaijan supports a peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Abiyev said