France, Strasburg, 15 April / Trend corr A. Maharramli / Russell-Johnston, head of the Subcommittee on Nagorno-Karabakh of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), intends to meet with the heads of parliamentary delegations of Armenia and Azerbaijan in Strasburg on 17 April, said Agnieszka Nachilo, PACE Secretary for Political Affairs, to Trend on 15 April.
Previously, Nachilo said that the next meeting of the Subcommittee on Nagorno-Karabakh will take place in Strasburg by the end of June within the framework of the summer session.
In January 2005, PACE passed Resolution 1416 connected with Nagorno-Karabakh problem. The Resolution says that Armenia occupies Azerbaijani territories. It also contains suggestions on settlement of the conflict. PACE established a subcommittee on control over implementation of the conflict. The Subcommittee is presided over by the British PACE MP Lord Russell-Johnston.
"The meeting will discuss settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, negotiation process and results of Johnston's recent visit to the region," she said.
It was planned to hold a meeting involving Azerbaijani and Armenian MPs on 18 April, during the spring session of PACE. However, the meeting was postponed due to the presidential elections in Armenia.
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.