Baku, Azerbaijan, July 30
Trend:
Azerbaijan’s Defense Minister, Colonel-General Zakir Hasanov met with a delegation headed by EU Special Representative for the South Caucasus and the Crisis in Georgia Toivo Klaar, the Defense Ministry said in a message July 30.
During the meeting, where the current situation on the front line was discussed, Hasanov stressed that Armenia’s destructive position is the main obstacle in the achievement of progress in the settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
In his turn, Klaar stressed the importance of speedy and peaceful settlement of the conflict to ensure stability in the South Caucasus region.
The guest expressed hope that the policy being pursued by Armenia’s new Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan is aimed at peaceful settlement of the conflict.
The diplomat also stressed that the EU supports further negotiations in this direction.
Hasanov updated the guests that the speeches of the new Armenian leadership, containing military rhetoric, directed against Azerbaijan, and in particular the fact that the country’s prime minister and the minister of defense sent their sons to military service in the occupied Azerbaijani territories testify that these new authorities are also not interested in peaceful settlement of the conflict.
The Azerbaijani minister emphasized that to resolve the conflict as soon as possible, Armenia must immediately and unconditionally withdraw its troops from Azerbaijan’s lands by observing the norms and principles of international law.
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.