Azerbaijan, Baku, Oct.3 / Trend, S.Agayeva /
Azerbaijan expects a concrete position from international community, heads of the co-chairs (OSCE Minsk Group), and foreign ministers on the resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, so that they would express their attitude to this process, and take necessary steps contributing to further course of the negotiations, Head of the Foreign Relations Department of the Azerbaijani Presidential Administration Novruz Mammadov said.
So far it is wrong to say about the negotiations on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict have been fully suspended, Mammadov noted.
"This does not mean that meetings of the co-chairs, foreign ministers and presidents should be held every month. Earlier, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister met with the foreign minister of France, even earlier - with the co-chairs, while President Ilham Aliyev met with the EU representative on this issue. Also, there are also other meetings that are held presently. It is however necessary to point out that the Armenian side, sometimes wants to delay the negotiation process by finding reasons. This can be assessed as today it is in their interests," Mammadov said.
He explains the reason for such a position with that Armenian authorities want to extend their stay in power.
"But one thing is clear - both the leadership of Armenia and the Armenian people have to understand that the conflict should be fairly resolved sooner or later. There is no other option. In other words, Azerbaijani territories must be returned to Azerbaijan - something we will definitely do. There's no other way," Mammadov 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 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.