Baku, Azerbaijan, Nov.7
By Leman Zeynalova – Trend:
EU hopes for substantive talks on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict as soon as feasible, the EU Special Representative for the South Caucasus and the crisis in Georgia Toivo Klaar, who is on a visit to Baku, told Trend Nov.7.
“The EU welcomes the current decrease in tension on the ground and the constructive attitude shown by the Azerbaijani and Armenian leaderships. The EU hopes that this will be accompanied by concrete and substantive negotiations as soon as feasible, with the aim to move towards the peaceful resolution of the conflict on the basis of mutual compromises,” said Klaar.
He noted that in this regard, the EU supports the efforts undertaken by the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs.
Moreover, Spokesperson for the EU Special Representative Henri Duquenne told Trend that Klaar will have meetings with the Foreign Minister, the Defence Minister and the Chairman of the State Committee for Refugees and IDPs today and tomorrow.
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.
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