Baku, Azerbaijan, May 8
Trend:
Azerbaijan is extremely concerned over the illegal import of products from its territories occupied by Armenia to Europe, Azerbaijani deputy foreign minister said.
Mahmud Mammadguliyev, deputy foreign minister of Azerbaijan made the remarks during the first informal meeting between the trade ministers of the Eastern Partnership countries and EU in Brussels.
The meeting chaired by the European Commissioner for Trade Cecilia Malmstrom, focused on the prospects for development of the trade and economic relations between Eastern Partnership countries and EU, Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry said.
Stressing that the EU is the main trade partner of Azerbaijan, Mammadguliyev said that there is a great potential to expand the bilateral trade relations.
Mammadguliyev expressed concern over the illegal import of products from Azerbaijan's occupied lands to Europe and emphasized the necessity of taking measures by EU to prevent such cases.
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 the UN Security Council's four resolutions on the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding regions.
Edited by CN