Azerbaijan, Baku, Apr. 12 / Trend A.Huseynbala /
Position of the Azerbaijani Community in determining status of Nagorno-Karabakh should be taken into account in determining status of the Nagorno-Karabakh, Community Leader Bayram Safarov said.
"The OSCE Minsk Group stands for consideration of the community's position when determining status of the Nagorno-Karabakh, the co-chairs have repeatedly talked about it," Safarov was quoted as saying by the ruling New Azerbaijan Party's (NAP) web site.
He said the Armenian side should take seriously resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. "Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan's recent statements on the self-determination of the people of the Nagorno-Karabakh are not serious. The demonstration of such a position openly points to Armenia's desire to tighten the process of solving the conflict," Safarov added.
Armenians of Karabakh want to live in Azerbaijan. "The whole world is obvious process of intensive development in Azerbaijan. Life is the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh is too heavy. So simple Armenians prefer to live in Azerbaijan's composition," he said.
Azerbaijan has a powerful army that is ready to liberate the occupied lands, Safarov said.
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.