President of Azerbaijan Accuses Armenia of Violating Confidentiality of Negotiations on Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict
Azerbaijan, Baku / corr. Trend A.Ismaylova, E.Huseynov / Armenia broke the agreement on confidentiality of the negotiations process on the peaceful settlement of Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
The President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, stated on 4 May in the opening of a special settlement for internally displaced persons in the Ramani settlement of Sabunchu district of Baku that the senior officials of Armenia have distorted the information on the negotiations process. According to the President, it may be as a result from the internal situation of Armenia it being on the eve of their parliamentary elections. Aliyev did not specify which items the Armenian side had violated the confidentiality process.
The conflict between the two countries of South Caucasus appeared in 1988 due to the territorial claims of Armenia against Azerbaijan. Armenia has occupied 20% of the Azerbaijani land including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven Districts of the country surrounding it. Since 1992 to the present time, these territories have been under the occupation of the Armenian Forces. In 1994, Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a cease-fire agreement at which time the active hostilities ended. The Co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group ( Russia, France and USA) holds peaceful negotiations.
The President of Azerbaijan was asked a question "if indeed the negotiations are going on in favor of Armenia as they said, why did they decide to terminate the negotiations on the eve of the elections".
According to the State Head of Azerbaijan, there is a common agreement on returning seven occupied districts of Azerbaijan gradually, after which it is intended to return the Azerbaijanis wholly to their native land. It is the principal position of Azerbaijan. Aliyev stressed that these proposals have been accepted by Armenia and mediators of the negotiations. The President stated that the status of Nagorno-Karabakh may be discussed only within the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan. In addition, Azerbaijan does not protest against the initiative of Armenia to place peacekeepers in the territory.
