BAKU, Azerbaijan, Dec. 12
By Samir Ali - Trend:
Despite continuation of the negotiation process to resolve the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict through the mediation of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs, Armenia continues to pursue a destructive policy, Assistant of the President, Head of Foreign Policy Department of the Presidential Administration of Azerbaijan Hikmat Hajiyev told reporters in Baku, Trend reports.
Armenia in one form or another poses obstacles to the negotiation process, Hajiyev noted, adding that first of all, the conflicting statements voiced by the Armenian side seriously damage the negotiations.
Touching upon the mutual visits of Azerbaijani and Armenian journalists, Hikmat Hajiyev noted that one of the important conditions is for Armenian journalists to inform the Armenian public about what they saw firsthand during their visit to Azerbaijan.
"Very serious propaganda is carried out at the state level in Armenia and the causes of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict are seriously distorted. In such situation, it was necessary for journalists to inform the Armenian public about Azerbaijan's position on the conflict," Hajiyev said.
"Based on this, mutual visits of journalists were organized at the initiative of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs. This was one of the first initiatives undertaken. Information on initiatives related to the mutual visits of Armenian and Azerbaijani NGOs is not available yet."
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, 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 Nagorno Karabakh and the surrounding districts.