Baku, Azerbaijan, March 23
By Elena Kosolapova - Trend:
The most important condition for the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict settlement as it was demanded by the UN Security Council's resolutions is the withdrawal of Armenian army from the occupied territories of Azerbaijan, spokesman for the Azerbaijani foreign ministry Hikmet Hajiyev told Trend on 'This week in focus' program episode.
"The military factor, facts of occupation and aggression shall be removed from this process," he said. "Then we can have a breakthrough in the overall negotiation process and guarantee peace and security in this region."
"It is disappointing and frustrating for Azerbaijani people that there is no resolution to the conflict," Hajiyev said. "For the refugees and internally displaced people of Azerbaijan and their demand is simply to return to their territories and their homeland."
Hajiyev recalled that the OSCE Minsk Group was formed in 1995, and since then there have been no results in the negotiation process.
"The result is the elimination of the fact of occupation and aggression against Azerbaijan and guaranteeing the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Azerbaijan.
Hajiyev said that the result can only be the return of Azerbaijani refugees and IDPs to their homeland .
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 US are currently holding peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding regions.
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Elena Kosolapova is Trend Agency's staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @E_Kosolapova