Azerbaijan, Baku, June 29 / Trend, A. Suleymanova /
PACE will continue to work to reconcile the positions of the Armenian and Azerbaijani sides to resume the activity of the PACE Sub-Committee on Nagorno Karabakh, PACE President Mevlut Cavusoglu told journalists today in Astana.
"In 2005, PACE adopted resolution 1416, under which it decided to establish a subcommittee on Nagorno-Karabakh, but the Sub-Committee chairman, Lord Russell-Johnston died, and in this regard the activity of the Sub-Committee was suspended. However, the issue remains on the agenda of the Bureau," Cavusoglu said.
"The Armenian delegation has some doubts, so we decided to continue the meetings between Armenian and Azerbaijani delegations in my office. And during the PACE October session this year we will continue such meetings, then I will report to the Bureau and the Bureau will adopt a decision," 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 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.