Azerbaijan Calls upon IAEA to Take Measures against Using Occupied Territories for Illegal Turnover of Nuclear Materials

Austria, Vienna, 01 October /corr. Trend A.Aleskerov / Azerbaijan calls upon the IAEA to take measures against the possibilities of using occupied territories for illegal turnover of nuclear and radioactive materials.

"Today one of the global threats to peace and stability is the presence of the unsettled conflicts between the states, separatism and appearance of so-called self-proclaimed states not following the international legal obligations, where there are possibilities to use their territories for the free turnover of nuclear and radioactive materials, and their introduction for unauthorized purposes. This issue is especially urgent in the region where Azerbaijan is located," said the President of the National Academy of Sciences of Azerbaijan, Academician Mahmud Karimov, giving a speech on the second day of the 52nd session of the General Conference of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna.

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.

The 52nd session of the General Conference of the International Atomic Energy Agency, which takes place in Vienna, is attended by the specialists from more than 140 countries.

Karimov called upon the IAEA to take measures with regards to these facts and strengthen efforts to ensure peace and stability in the world.

The delegation headed by Karimov includes a group from the Ministry of Ecology, Ministry of Emergency Situations, State Customs Committee and Cabinet of Ministers. During the 52nd session of the General Conference of the International Atomic Energy Agency, the delegation of Azerbaijan will conduct several meetings within technical co-operation with the IAEA.

Karimov also emphasized that Azerbaijan highly assesses the efforts of the IAEA, directed towards the assistance to the realization of effective programs with regards to nuclear science and technologies, which are aimed at covering basic needs of the country for sustainable development.
In all meetings, the representatives of the diplomatic corps of Azerbaijan in Vienna will accompany Azerbaijani delegation.

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