Baku, Azerbaijan, Jan. 23
By Anakhanum Hidayatova – Trend:
President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) Pedro Agramunt expressed regret over PACE’s inability to visibly contribute to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict settlement in 2016.
He was addressing a PACE winter plenary part-session that kicked off in Strasbourg Jan. 23.
Agramunt also reminded about the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict’s escalation in April 2016, adding that the situation remains explosive.
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.