Baku, Azerbaijan, April 6
By Leman Zeynalova – Trend:
Italy supports the efforts of the OSCE Minsk Group aimed at a peaceful settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and is not going to discuss another format of negotiations, Italian President Sergio Mattarella said.
He made the remarks at a meeting with his Armenian counterpart in Rome, Armenian media reported.
Mattarella voiced hope that the Minsk Group together with the conflict sides will find the right way of resolution, and the conflict will be resolved as soon as possible.
The president stressed that one of the priorities of Italy's chairmanship at the OSCE is the resolution of protracted conflicts.
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.