Baku, Azerbaijan, June 21
By Elmira Tariverdiyeva – Trend:
A high-ranking Cypriot diplomat has refuted the lies of Armenians concerning the Cyprus Foreign Minister Ioannis Kasoulides’ statements, a diplomatic source told Trend June 21.
Earlier, the Armenian Defense Ministry distributed a press release stating that Kasoulides allegedly called Azerbaijan’s Nagorno-Karabakh region, occupied by Armenians, as “the historical territory of Armenians.” According to News Armenia, Kasoulides made that statement in a meeting with Armenian Defense Minister Vigen Sargsyan.
However, the high-ranking Cypriot diplomat said on the sidelines of an international organization, where representatives of Azerbaijan, Cyprus and other countries work, that Kasoulides has never said anything that could be interpreted by the Armenian side as support for the occupation of Azerbaijani territories by Armenia.
“Moreover, Kasoulides has not stated that the Nagorno-Karabakh region is the historical territory of Armenians,” the high-ranking Cypriot diplomat 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.