Baku, Azerbaijan, Jan. 17
By Seba Aghayeva – Trend:
Azerbaijan’s not supporting the extension of mandate for the OSCE Yerevan office is being used by Armenia for its own benefit, Hikmat Hajiyev, spokesman for Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry, told Trend Jan. 17.
“Indeed, Azerbaijan hasn’t supported extension of mandate for the OSCE office in Yerevan. Azerbaijan has repeatedly brought to OSCE’s attention that the military and political activities of the Yerevan office go beyond its mandate. Here the matter rests on participation of the office in events, particularly in mine clearance projects,” Hajiyev said.
Such activity displeases the Azerbaijani side as the Yerevan office has no authority to deal with the issues connected with the Karabakh conflict, he added.
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.