France, Strasburg, November 27 / corr Trend A.Maharramli/ "I don't expect any the Council of Europe to become an ideal forum for the solution of the [Armenian-Azerbaijani] Nagorno-Karabakh conflict," said Angel Moratinos, the new chairman of the CE Committee of Ministers, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Spain, during the press conference held at CE in Strasburg on 27 November.
Attending the conference were Karl Bildt, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Sweden, and Terry Davis, CE Secretary-General.
Moratinos stressed that there are other options for the solution of the conflict. "As Secretary-General mentioned, I have been engaged in this issue when I was the OSCE chairman. Negotiations between Azerbaijan and Armenia have been reformed. In his turn the chairman of the CE Committee of Ministers can revive the dialogue and assist in the creation of atmosphere of confidence. This is what we are trying for," he emphasized.
The conflict between the two countries of South Caucasus began in 1988 due to territorial claims by Armenia against Azerbaijan. Armenia has occupied 20% of the Azerbaijani land including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and its seven surrounding Districts. Since 1992, these territories have been under the occupation of the Armenian Forces. 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 USA) are currently holding peaceful negotiations.
Moratinos reiterated that they will make all efforts to create the political and diplomatic environment.
"I do believe we are more near to the achievement of peace than we were before. We'll use all of the opportunities to create a good political and diplomatic atmosphere. I call on both sides to keep continuing dialogue to find solution to the dispute," he noted.
He also added that the conference expected to be held in Baku next week will become the first during Spain's chairmanship at the CE Committee of Ministers. Such an inter-cultural conference about the dialogue will provide good basis for joint activitie, he said.