Azerbaijan, Baku, September 6 /Trend, I.Izzet/
After Azerbaijan's occupied territories are liberated and people are able to return to their homeland, Armenians living in Nagorno-Karabakh will become Azerbaijani citizens with equal rights, the head of Azerbaijani State Committee for Work with Diaspora Nazim Ibrahimov said on Friday at a press conference covering the results of a high level meeting between the Nizami Ganjavi International Centre and Club of Madrid.
The head of the State Committee noted that firstly the Nagorno-Karabakh problem should be resolved for this reason.
"We witness the creation of a society in Azerbaijan which is desired by many countries," he said.
According to him, alongside with other issues, political conflicts including the Nagorno-Karabakh one were discussed within the meeting.
"Azerbaijani is ready to give Nagorno-Karabakh the highest degree of autonomy that exists in the world. This even became the reason for the guest's surprise. What else can Armenians expect?" Ibrahimov 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.