Azerbaijan, Baku, Jan. 6 / Trend M.Aliyev /
The Belgium-Azerbaijan Interparliamentary Working Group is working for the Belgian parliament to discuss Khojaly genocide, MP Elhan Suleymanov, co-chairman of the Working group, told journalists on Friday.
He said this issue has been included in the Working Group's plan for 2012.
The plan also contains the issues of demonstrating the materials about Azerbaijan on Belgian television, holding student exchange, establishing fraternal relations between the Belgian city of Thuin and Azerbaijani city of Shamakhi and opening a monument to the prominent Azerbaijani poet Mirza Sabir Alakbar in Thuin.
The meeting was held with the delegation headed by co-chairman of the Belgium-Azerbaijan Working Group's on interparliamentary relations Philippe Blanchard in the parliament on Friday.
The First Vice-Speaker Ziyafet Asgarov informed the guests about Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. He stressed that 20 percent of Azerbaijani lands were occupied more than 20 years ago and Armenia carried out ethnic purges on these territories.
He also pointed out that the UN Security Council in different years adopted four resolutions in connection with the occupation of Azerbaijani territories by Armenia, but none of them has been implemented.
"If the Belgian parliament raises the issue of just resolving the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict at its meetings, we will be able to say that Europe has begun deviating from double standards," he said.
The parties exchanged opinions on Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, as well as Azerbaijani-Belgian relations.
Blanchard stressed the importance of the meeting at the briefing. He said that he will visit Azerbaijani regions on Jan.7, hold meetings with the representatives of organizations dealing with problems of refugees and internally displaced persons. The main goal of the Belgian delegation's visit is to discuss the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Blanchard said.
Armenian armed forces with the help of the 366th motor-rifling regiment occupied Azerbaijan's Khojaly city and committed genocide, killing hundreds of innocent people because of their ethnic background on February 26, 1992. As a result, 613 people were savagely killed, 487 were injured, and 1,275 people were taken into hostage. The fates of many of them are still unknown. After the 366th motor-rifling regiment's withdrawal from Khankendi, a major part of the military equipment owned by this military unit was transferred to the Armenian separatists.