Azerbaijan, Baku, May 14 / Trend K. Zarbaliyeva /
Armenia uses Azerbaijani occupied territories to transport drugs, the head of the Azerbaijani State Customs Committee said on a visit to Finland.
"The 'Azerbaijani territories occupied by Armenia' are uncontrolled zones. They are used to transport drugs and for smuggling," Chairman Aydin Aliyev said at a meeting with Finnish National Customs Board Chief Director Tapani Erling.
Aliyev said ties between the committee and the relevant institutions in Turkey, Russia, Iran and Georgia are developing at the highest level. However, iis impossible to establish cooperation with Armenia, which occupies20 percent of Azerbaijan's territory, he said.
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 United States - are currently holding the peace negotiations.
Armenia has not yet implemented the U.N. Security Council's resolutions on the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh region and the occupied territories.