Baku, Azerbaijan, March 3
By Anakhanum Hidayatova – Trend:
Negotiations on strategic partnership agreement between the European Union and Azerbaijan have started, Head of EU Delegation to Azerbaijan Malena Mard told reporters in Baku March 3.
Mard noted that the new round of negotiations will be held soon and cover a wide range of issues, including such spheres as migration and trade.
Touching upon the recent tensions on the line of contact between Azerbaijan and Armenia, Mard said that the status quo is unsustainable and expressed the EU’s support for the activity of the OSCE Minsk Group.
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.