Azerbaijan, Baku, November 18 / Trend, S. Agayeva /
Armenia must withdraw unconditionally from the occupied Azerbaijani lands, Pakistan's Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar is reported as saying.
"Pakistan fully backs Azerbaijan in the conflict with Armenia over Nagorno Karabakh and thinks the occupied Azerbaijani territories must be freed unconditionally," the Pakistani Foreign Minister said at a meeting with Azerbaijani Ambassador to Pakistan Dashgyn Shikarov, the Embassy reported on Friday.
Having congratulated Azerbaijan on being elected a UN Security Council non-permanent member, the Pakistani foreign ministry chief said it was a great tribute to Azerbaijani diplomacy and stressed that cooperation between the two countries under the UN would go on.
The Azerbaijani Ambassador thanked the Pakistan Government for its backing for Azerbaijan's position in all issues, including the Nagorno Karabakh conflict.
Mr. Shikarov said the issue of the Pakistani President's visit to Azerbaijan remains on the agenda and that the visit will contribute towards the development of bilateral relations.
The diplomat told the Minister that the Azerbaijan government had assigned $2 million relief aid to those who had suffered from the serious flooding in the Pakistani Sind province.
The foreign minister voiced her gratitude to the Government and nation of Azerbaijan for financial and moral support in Pakistan's difficult time.
The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Armenian armed forces have occupied 20 per cent 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 the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding areas.