Azerbaijan, Baku, Sept. 29 / Trend /
Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov on Saturday delivered a speech at the 67th session of the UN General Assembly.
The Minister said that this was his first speech to the General Assembly after the election of Azerbaijan as non-permanent member of United Nations Security Council, and expressed deep gratitude to the members of the organization for the support and strong solidarity with our country in the 17 rounds of the elections.
"Mr. President, the current topic of discussion is the settlement of international disputes and situations in the world. It is still timely and topical. This is a logical continuation of the discussions that took place during the 66th session of the General Assembly. Indeed, the peaceful settlement of disputes is a key, core principles of international law . It is important to respect the territorial integrity and political independence of each other, and to refrain from the threat or use of force in international conflicts and resolve them based on international law, "- said Mammadyarov.
According to him, during the 65th and 66th sessions the General Assembly adopted two resolutions, strengthening the role of mediation in the peaceful settlement of disputes, conflict prevention, as well as the Secretary-General submitted a report which contained the guidance of effective mediation. "It's crucial that the resolutions adopted by the General Assembly and the Secretary General's guidance for effective mediation reaffirm the key role of the UN Charter and international law, in particularly commitment to respect and uphold the sovereignty, territorial integrity and political independence of States," - said the head of the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry.
According to the minister, the world still faces persistent and systematic violations of fundamental norms and principles of international law. "There are times when the use of forceis practiced against the territorial integrity and political independence to achieve territorial gains. Hundreds of thousands of people throughout the world continue to suffer aggression, occupation, ethnic cleansing, and the prevailing impunity for the most serious crimes of concern to the international community. The ongoing conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan continues to represent a serious challenge to security in the region and the world. The conflict resulted with occupation of almost 20 percent of Azerbaijani territory, and more than a million people have become refugees and internally displaced persons. The war killed and injured hundreds of Azerbaijanis, including the elderly, women and children",- said Mammadyarov.
The Foreign Minister said that the aggression of Armenia against Azerbaijan affected the socio-economic sphere. "No single Azerbaijani cultural and architectural monument, was not been damaged or destroyed in the occupied territories.
But we believe that there is no alternative to peace, stability and mutually beneficial cooperation in the region. As a country that has suffered from the occupation and the expulsion of hundreds of thousands of its citizens, Azerbaijan is the most interested party in the earliest negotiated settlement of conflict, knowing that objective is to end the illegal Armenian occupation, to ensure the return of internally displaced persons and to ensure the peaceful coexistence of the Armenian and Azerbaijani communities of Nagorno Karabakh within the Republic of Azerbaijan ", - said Mammadyarov.
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 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.