Baku, Azerbaijan, March 17
By Elmira Tariverdiyeva – Trend:
The settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict will bring stability to the region, Latvian President Raimonds Vējonis told reporters on the sidelines of the fifth Global Baku Forum Mar. 17.
The two-day forum titled “The Future of International Relations: Power and Interests” kicked off in Baku March 16.
It is very important for the international community to contribute to the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict through diplomatic methods, President Vējonis added.
The president touched upon the meeting with Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov, with whom he also discussed the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, international topics, cooperation between the EU and Azerbaijan, Latvia and Azerbaijan.
Latvia is interested in closer cooperation with Azerbaijan in implementing the North-South project, which partially passes through Azerbaijan as Latvia has always been and will be a good regional hub, the president said.
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.