Azerbaijan, Baku, March 20 / Trend , M. Aliyev /
After visiting the region a delegation of the OSCE PA identified Azerbaijan's role in the region and world for itself, Azerbaijani Deputy Parliamentary Speaker Bahar Muradova told journalists today.
A delegation of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, headed by the President of the Assembly Joao Soares and Special Representative on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict Goran Lennmarker arrived in Azerbaijan with a three-day visit last week.
Bahar Muradova said representatives of the OSCE PA delegation had a great opportunity to compare the general development of these countries, their position in the region by visiting Azerbaijan after Georgia and Armenia.
"The visit was also significant in terms of settling the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict," Muradova added.
Within regional visit the representatives of OSCE Parliamentary Assembly have visited Georgia, Armenia and ended their visit in Azerbaijan. Negotiations in all three countries concerned the process of resolving the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, as well as the situation in Georgia after the conflict in August 2008.
Muradova said Soares emphasized Azerbaijan's development, democratic processes in the country, and the creation of civil society during his first visit to Azerbaijan.
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.
Armenia has not yet implemented the U.N. Security Council's four resolutions on the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh region and the occupied territories.