Azerbaijan, Baku, June 13 / Trend T. Konyayeva /
It is necessary to use every opportunity to resolve the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict," Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt said at a joint press conference with Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov.
"Any progress in resolving the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is a step forward to resolving the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict," Bildt said.
Europe's models for resolving the territorial disputes, including Sweden's, may be applied to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Bildt said.
Bildt said that the ministers of Azerbaijan and Sweden also discussed the Association Agreement with the EU. One of the main issues is human rights.
Issues concerning political, economic and trade spheres, including investment concerns, were also discussed," Bildt 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 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 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.