Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug. 28
By Seba Aghayeva - Trend:
Azerbaijan urges the OSCE Minsk Group to sharply respond to the illegal placement of Kurdish Yazidis in the occupied region of Nagorno-Karabakh, Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry's Spokesman, Elman Abdullayev said Aug. 28.
"Such attempts and actions impede the negotiation process over Nagorno-Karabakh, and are contrary to the Fourth Geneva Convention," Abdullayev said.
He noted that similar attempts and actions have occurred in the past, and these facts are reflected in the statement of the OSCE mission on investigation of illegal placement of people by Armenia in Azerbaijan's occupied territories.
Abdullayev went on to add that the Foreign Ministry of Azerbaijan has informed international organizations on Armenia's attempts to illegally place the Yazidis in the occupied region of Nagorno-Karabakh and in the adjacent occupied territories of Azerbaijan.
Yazidis are a Kurdish ethno-religious community living in Iraq.
The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan.
As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.
The two countries 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 four U.N. Security Council resolutions on the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding regions.
Edited by S.I.