Azerbaijan, Baku, March 15 / Trend , A.Huseynbala/
Armenian people have become the hostage of political ambitions of the Armenian diasporas in foreign countries, said the chairman of the Azerbaijani parliament.
"Azerbaijan attaches great importance to developing relations with key international organizations, including the OSCE Parliamentary. Our country is now surely moving towards building a democratic, secular state and every day strengthens cooperation with different structures of the organization. Members of the Azerbaijani delegation actively participate in the activities of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, and we assess it as a positive case. Ignoring the well-known resolutions and decisions on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, adopted by the UN Security Council and other influential international organizations, Armenia continues to pursue its aggressive policy," said Speaker of Azerbaijan Parliament Oktay Asadov at a meeting with a delegation led by Chairman of OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, Joao Soares, press service of the Parliament reported.
The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Armenian armed forces have occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan since 1992, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and 7 surrounding districts.
Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group - Russia, France, and the U.S. - are currently holding the peace negotiations.
Armenia has not yet implemented the U.N. Security Council's four resolutions on the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh region and the occupied territories.
The Chairman of the Parliament presented to the attention of guests the geopolitical position of Azerbaijan in South Caucasus and spoke about Azerbaijan's role in the energy security of Europe. "It was stated that the unresolved conflicts in the region, along with preventing region's integration into European structures and its development, constantly threaten the security of the South Caucasus. Remembering the events in the region occurred in August 2008, the Speaker noted to what dangerous consequences can the delay in resolving such conflicts bring," the statement says.
According to the Chairman of Parliament, Europe must already make its choice in this regard. "Either to select the development, progress of the region, or "listen" to the fabrications of the Armenian lobby. For over 20 years, monuments of culture, clubs, libraries belonging to Azerbaijan have been destroyed and razed to the ground in Nagorno-Karabakh, and the international community turns blind eyes on this that can not be explained. Despite that the OSCE Minsk Group has been dealing with the solution of problem over the past 18 years, unfortunately, real results have not been achieved yet. We support the solution of the conflict under international law based on the principle of territorial integrity of states," Asadov said.
Despite that Azerbaijan has repeatedly stated its position on this, Armenia does not want to withdraw from the occupied territory of a neighboring state. "In this case, naturally the Azerbaijani side preserves the right to ensure its territorial integrity, using all possible means. However, we believe that through the efforts of the OSCE Minsk Group and the world community, the problem will soon find its fair solution," said Asadov.
Soares said that his organization attaches great importance to developing relations with the South Caucasus region. He highly assessed the activities of the Azerbaijani parliamentary delegation to the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly and noted the high professionalism that the representatives of the Azerbaijani Parliament demonstrate in the organization.
Head of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly said that he closely got familiarized with the situation during his visit to the South Caucasus region and will strengthen his efforts to address the problems of the region within the organization. Prompt resolution of existing problems is a requirement of the day in the question of security and development in the region, said Soares.
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