Baku, Azerbaijan, July 9
By Anakhanum Idayatova – Trend:
NATO’s leadership has on many occasions recognized the important contribution that Azerbaijan has and is playing in the fight against terrorism and other challenges, Amanda Paul, senior policy analyst at the European Policy Centre, told Trend July 9.
The two-day NATO summit kicked off in Warsaw July 8 with participation of Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev. The summit participants are discussing strengthening the stability beyond NATO borders, fighting terrorism, enhancing the defence capability and deterrence means of the Alliance.
Moreover, OSCE Minsk Group Co-chairs James Warlick (US), Igor Popov (Russia) and Pierre Andrieu (France) are also participating in the summit.
Commenting on the discussions on the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict in the summit, Paul said that the international community recognizes that following the April developments, the conflict is at crucial juncture: either a return to a serious negotiating process that quickly makes progress and delivers some result, or the alternative which is a very likely a new military clash on the line and contact which is likely to be worse than in April.
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 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations.
Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.
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