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Azerbaijani FM: Too many worrying signals of Armenia's disinterest in peaceful settlement of Nagorno-Karabakh conflict (UPDATE)

Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict Materials 2 October 2010 14:56 (UTC +04:00)
Editor’s note: Details were added in the article
Azerbaijani FM: Too many worrying signals of Armenia's disinterest in peaceful settlement of Nagorno-Karabakh conflict  (UPDATE)

Editor's note: Details were added in the article

Azerbaijan, Baku, Oct. 2 / Trend S.Agayeva /

Azerbaijan is concerned about worrying signals that suggest Armenia's disinterest in a peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

"There are too many worrying signals that suggest that Armenia is not interested in a peaceful solution to the conflict," Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov said at the meeting in the format of "January 28" of the North Atlantic Council, the foreign ministry reported.

Despite all the efforts of Azerbaijan and the international mediators to achieve a peaceful resolution, Mammadyarov said, Armenia keeps an extremely destructive position in the negotiations, daily acting on the ground, the Azerbaijani foreign ministry reported.

Azerbaijan recognizes the importance of a robust cease-fire regime that should minimize human losses, he said.

"We have now a very delicate situation," Mammadyarov said. "It is not only about whether Armenia accepts a proposal of the OSCE Minsk Group or not. It is about whether Armenia is sincerely willing to change the status-quo in any way under any condition."

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 and the surrounding regions.

"We start to have our doubts over Armenia, which is not interested in a peaceful solution to the conflict," he said. " Armenia supports the growing settlements in the occupied territories; Azerbaijani cultural and historic heritage in the occupied territories is systematically destructed; property of the forcibly expelled Azerbaijani population is being privatized; there are illegal archaeological excavations that should support their claim that the occupied territories are actually 'historically Armenian'."

"In other words, Armenia tries to make the situation irreversible," Mammadyarov said adding that those provocative actions put additional time pressure on us.

Mammadyarov said Armenia often appeals to ban on the use of military force in resolving the conflict, but says nothing about that it having used force against the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan, militarily occupied a significant part of Azerbaijan. Armenia represents a challenge to both Azerbaijan and the entire international community.

"The international community should unequivocally state that the status quo - the continuing use of force - is unacceptable," he said.

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