Azerbaijan, Baku, Oct. 9 / Trend M.Aliyev /
The Union of the Azerbaijani Diaspora organizations in Kazakhstan will appeal to the OSCE Astana summit over the restoration of the rights of refugees from Nagorno-Karabakh, Union Chairman Vidadi Salahov told Trend on Saturday.
"Up to 10,000 refugees from the occupied territories of Azerbaijan are residing in Kazakhstan," Salahov said. "The Armenian government is responsible for the occupation of lands, houses and other properties of the people."
The OSCE summit to be held in Astana on Dec.1-2 is expected to bring together 50 leaders of the member-states, 12 leaders of the partner-states and leaders of more than 60 international organizations.
The Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is one of the issues to be discussed at the summit.
Salahov said the appeal will reflect the requirement on restoring the rights of the Azerbaijanis, and the organization wants this appeal to be read out during the summit.
He said a copy of the appeal has been submitted to the Kazakh Foreign Ministry and the Union waits for an answer from this agency.
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.
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