Azerbaijan, Baku / Тrend corr K. Ramazanova / Azerbaijani Deputy Foreign Minister, Araz Azimov, called the statement of Armenian Foreign Minister, Vardan Oskanyan, on the status of Nagorno-Karabakh to be unjust.
Earlier Oskanyan had stated that regardless the fate of Kosovo Nagorno-Karabakh will still seek international recognition of its achieved independency.
Azimov said to journalists in Baku on 7 August that the statement of the Armenian Foreign Minister cannot be seriously taken. "Oskanyan made the statement in reply to periodical statements of US co-chairman of the OSCE Minsk Group, Mathew Bryza, who is saying Kosovo will not become a precedent for the Karabakh conflict. The statement of the Armenian minister has no logic," Azimov added.
The conflict between the two countries of South Caucasus began in 1988 due to territorial claims by Armenia against Azerbaijan. Armenia has occupied 20% of the Azerbaijani land including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and its seven surrounding Districts. Since 1992, these territories have been under the occupation of the Armenian Forces. In 1994, Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement at which time the active hostilities ended. The Co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group ( Russia, France and USA) are currently holding peaceful negotiations.