Baku, Azerbaijan, July 22
Trend:
Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev spoke about the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict during his joint press conference with President of European Council Donald Tusk in Baku on June 22.
"I've informed Mr. President [Donald Tusk] about the current situation at the negotiating table and the history of the conflict," said Ilham Aliyev, adding that the conflict has been lasting for more than two decades.
"Internationally recognized part of Azerbaijan -- Nagorno Karabakh, as well as seven other districts of Azerbaijan -- has been under Armenian occupation for more than 20 years," said Ilham Aliyev.
"The United Nations adopted four resolutions, demanding immediate and unconditional withdrawal of the Armenian troops from our territories, but they are not implemented."
The president reminded that as a result of Armenian occupation a million of Azerbaijanis became victims of this aggression, became IDPs, refugees, and suffered ethnic cleansing from Armenia.
The president noted that the soonest resolution of the conflict based on relevant law norms and Security Council resolutions will be to the benefit of all the people in the South Caucasus.
"We hope that international community will put more pressure on the aggressor, to start the de-occupation of Azerbaijani lands," he said, adding that it will start the process of normalization of relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia.
Territorial integrity of Azerbaijan has the same value as territorial integrity of any other country, said Ilham Aliyev.
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.