Baku, Azerbaijan, Dec. 10
By Seba Aghayeva – Trend:
Armenia’s statements are aimed at disrupting the negotiations on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict settlement as well as the efforts of the OSCE Minsk Group (MG) co-chairs, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov said commenting on the anti-Azerbaijan statement of Armenian FM at the OSCE Ministerial Council meeting in Hamburg.
“As noted in the latest statement of foreign ministers of the OSCE MG co-chair countries, the Azerbaijani side will continue the efforts to resolve the conflict through substantive negotiations jointly with the co-chairs,” Mammadyarov said in Baku Dec. 10.
He expressed confidence that the Armenian troops will be removed from the occupied Azerbaijani territories, and that Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity and sovereignty will be restored within internationally recognized borders.
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.