Editor's Note: Details have been added in the last paragraph
Azerbaijan, Baku, September 13 / Trend T. Konyayeva /
Kazakhstan wants a balanced approach and a peaceful settlement to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Kazakh Center for Strategic Studies Director Bulat Sultanov said today during a round-table meeting in Baku. He added that Kazakhstan is ready to make every effort to resolve the conflict.
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 seven 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 negotiations to resolve the dispute.
Armenia has failed to implement UN Security Council resolutions stipulating the liberation of Nagorno Karabakh and the surrounding regions.
Sultanov is attending the event upon the invitation of the Azerbaijani Presidential Center for Strategic Studies.
A second round-table meeting on "Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan: Bilateral Relations and Regional Relations" will also be held.
The first meeting was held in Kazakhstan in November 2008.
Baku and Astana have common approaches to resolving many regional and international issues, Sultanov said. He stressed that the two countries' parallel position on determining the legal status of the Caspian Sea "is encouraging." He also noted the need for cooperation in the energy sector, as well as developing transit routes and agriculture.
The personnel of the Kazakh Center for Strategic Studies and the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry, diplomatic representatives accredited to the country, and specialists on religion and international relations exchanged their views on bilateral ties, regional and international issues and also discussed existing bilateral political, economic and cultural relations during the meeting.