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Romanian ex-president: OSCE Minsk Group must intensify efforts to resolve Nagorno-Karabakh conflict

Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict Materials 5 October 2012 16:41 (UTC +04:00)

Azerbaijan, Baku, Oct. 5 / Trend M. Aliyev /

The OSCE Minsk Group must intensify efforts to resolve the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, former Romanian President Emil Constantinescu told media in Baku today.

He said the Nagorno-Karabakh issue is important and painful.

"The OSCE Minsk Group's activity must be intensified to rapidly resolve the problem," the Romanian ex-president said.

He also stressed that the EU countries believe that the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict must be resolved in the near future.

"We stand for resolving the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict within the OSCE Minsk Group," he said. "We appreciate the contribution of the national leader Heydar Aliyev and President Aliyev to the peaceful settlement of the conflict."

He stressed that the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict must be resolved as the problem of internally displaced persons is acute.

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.

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