Baku, Azerbaijan, Sept.23
By Seba Aghayeva - Trend:
Armenians have occupied the Azerbaijani territories and now want to hold a referendum, on which Azerbaijan has expressed its position and they are aware of this, Azerbaijani Presidential Administration's Deputy Head and Director of Administration's Foreign Relations Department Novruz Mammadov said on Sept.23.
Mammadov was commenting on the attempt to draw parallels between the 'referendum' in Nagorno-Karabakh and the referendum held in Scotland.
Mammadov said all these statements are not serious.
"Perhaps, they console themselves this way, or Armenians make these statements only for the local audience," Mammadov said.
The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict should be resolved sooner or later, he stressed, adding that Azerbaijan will liberate its occupied lands.
He said the longer it takes to resolve the conflict, the more severe consequences the Armenian leadership and the people of the country will face.
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 the U.N. Security Council's four resolutions on the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding regions.