Azerbaijan, Baku, 28 February / corr Trend S.Agayeva / Ilkka Kanerva, the Finnish Foreign minister and the OSCE chairman-in-office assured Baku that the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict will be settled within the framework of the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan. Kanerva made this statement to journalists after a meeting with the Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov in Baku on 28 February.
According to Kanerva, the OSCE will continue supporting the resolution of the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict within the Minsk Group. It is the OSCE's priority. "It is good that the leaders of Azerbaijan and Armenia wish to continue talks and their results will be definitely supported by the OSCE," the chairman-in-office said. He noted the importance to intensify the negotiation process to achieve rapid positive results.
The conflict between the two countries of the South Caucasus began in 1988 due to Armenian territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Since 1992, Armenian Armed Forces have occupied 20% of Azerbaijan including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and its seven surrounding districts. 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 the US) are currently holding peaceful negotiations.