Baku, Azerbaijan, Dec.3
Trend:
Azerbaijan's Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov and OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs have discussed the ways of resolving the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict in Belgrade, Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry told Trend Dec.3.
The meeting was held as part of the 22nd OSCE Ministerial Council that has kicked off in Belgrade, Serbia.
Azerbaijan's foreign minister and the co-chairs discussed the current status of the negotiation process on the conflict, the action plan of the OSCE Minsk Group for the upcoming period, as well as the issues related to organizing a meeting between Azerbaijani and Armenian presidents.
During the meeting, Mammadyarov emphasized the necessity of resolving the conflict in accordance with four resolutions of the UN Security Council and within Azerbaijan's internationally recognized territorial integrity and sovereignty, as well as withdrawal of Armenian armed forces from Azerbaijan's occupied lands.
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 SI