Azerbaijan, Baku, June 13 / Trend, T.Hajiyev /
We expect more from the Kazan meeting of Azerbaijani, Armenian and Russian presidents, the Head of the Azerbaijani Presidential Administration's Social and Political Department, Ali Hasanov, said on Monday.
"We believe that it is time for serious progress to be made in resolving the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict," Hasanov said. "Recently, the presidents of OSCE Minsk Group co-chairing countries directly involved in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict issued a joint statement. The soonest resolution of the conflict is desired", he added.
He emphasized that the statement calls for conflict resolution and an intensification to achieving progress in the negotiations.
"We believe that the Kazan meeting, given the spirit in which this statement was made, provides opportunities to achieve certain progress," he added.
Hasanov said these opportunities depend not only on Azerbaijan, but also on Armenia, which for many years has harbored an unconstructive position during talks.
"During specific meetings, Armenia has repeatedly violated incidents discussed beforehand, or moments which required coordination, resulting in the delay of the negotiation process because of the back and forth approach of the Armenian side," Hasanov stressed.
Azerbaijani, Armenian and Russian presidents' meeting in Kazan is scheduled for late June.
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 seven 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 Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding regions.