Azerbaijan, Baku, Feb. 20 / Trend , E.Rustamov/
Azerbaijan relies on international legal norms to resolve the Nargno-Karabakh conflict, Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry Press Secretary Khazar Ibrahim told journalists on Feb. 20.
"This was reflected in the UN General Assembly's documents and regulations," Ibrahim said.
Two reports were submitted to the UN General Assembly in 2008 upon the ministry's initiative. They were titled "Report on Juridical Consequences of Armenian Armed Aggression Against Azerbaijan" and "Report on Basic Territorial Integrity Norms of States and Rights to Self-Determination in Light of Armenian Revisionist Claims."
The first report examined two issues - whether Armenia committed a military attack against Azerbaijan in Nagorno-Karabakh and its surrounding areas and Azerbaijan's right to self-defense based on UN Regulations. The second report examined the countries' territorial integrity.
The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Armenian armed forces have occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan since 1992, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and 7 surrounding districts. Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group - Russia, France, and the U.S. - are currently holding the peace negotiations.
Azerbaijan supports resolving the conflict on the basis of international norms, the Foreign Ministry said.
"As to the issue that the conflict cannot be solved militarily, we should note that Armenia wanted to resolve the conflict using force in the past and currently seeks to do so as well," Ibrahim said.
The OSCE Minsk Group consider non-violence to be a key element in resolving the conflict.