Baku, Azerbaijan, March 15
By Ali Mustafayev – Trend:
Azerbaijan must establish control over its entire territory, rather than only 80 percent, Bulgarian ex-President Rosen Plevneliev said at the 6th Global Baku Forum March 15.
"Azerbaijan has been illegally deprived of part of its territory,” he said. “Azerbaijan is fully entitled to return it in accordance with internationally accepted resolutions and principles of territorial integrity."
“Presently, such crimes and injustice occur in different parts of the world,” he said. “Such violations must be eliminated by defining common principles and norms in the world.”
"Bulgaria is a supporter of tolerance, equality between people and religions,” he said. “We support the aspirations of the countries to conduct a peaceful and tolerant policy."
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.