Azerbaijan, Baku, Sept. 2 / Trend E.Tariverdiyeva /
First Secretary of the Foreign Ministry Spokesman Elman Abdullayev said determining the status of Nagorno-Karabakh is one of the basic principles of the updated Madrid document.
However, to pass to defining the temporary status of Nagorno-Karabakh the Armenian armed forces must withdraw from the occupied Azerbaijani territory, which will definitely have positive impact on the overall atmosphere in the region.
"It will allow launching work over determination of the status of Nagorno-Karabakh within the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan," Abdullayev told Trend.
During the celebrations of the 20th anniversary of the so-called 'Nagorno-Karabakh Republic' in Khankendi, Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan said Nagorno-Karabakh cannot in the future have a status lower than the current status, the Armenian media reported today.
"It is time to move to certain actions and begin work over a peace agreement, ceasing to engage in populism," Abdullayev said. "Unfortunately, Armenia lacks constructivism."
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.