Baku, Azerbaijan, Oct. 25
By Ilhama Isabalayeva - Trend:
France should take measures in connection with the illegal visit of the heads of municipalities of the country to the occupied territories of Azerbaijan, the Foreign Minister of Azerbaijan Elmar Mammadyarov told reporters Oct. 25.
The Azerbaijani Foreign Minister said he met with the French Ambassador at the VI Baku International Humanitarian Forum.
"I told the ambassador that if someone refuses to fulfill certain instructions, let the French government take appropriate measures. The ambassador replied that he would send information on this issue to Paris and will give an answer to the Azerbaijani side," Mammadyarov 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.