details added (first version posted at 13:21)
Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 10
By Seba Aghayeva - Trend:
Sweden offers to convene an enlarged meeting of the OSCE Minsk Group for settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Swedish Foreign Minister Margot Wallström said in Baku Feb. 10.
Wallström made the statement during a joint press conference with Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov.
"Sweden can contribute to the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict," she said.
Wallström said that during her visit with Mammadyarov she discussed the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and the ways to de-escalate tension in the conflict region.
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 withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.