France, Strasbourg, April 23 / Trend A. Maharramli /
The situation with the Council of Europe's subcommittee on Nagorno-Karabakh remains unclear, PACE chairman Jean-Claude Mignon told media at a press conference held within the PACE spring session.
He said that although the subcommittee's activity was planned to be resumed, the issue was not raised at the PACE meeting on April 9.
"I stress that this is a difficult question," he said. "However, I voiced the initiative to hold meetings with the Azerbaijani and Armenian delegations, perhaps, a joint meeting with the two delegations. I would like to hold a meaningful and constructive dialogue with them.
This meeting could take place within the PACE spring session. But the Armenian delegation does not participate in the session due to the upcoming parliamentary elections. If this meeting fails within this session, we will organize it within June
session."
He also added that the meeting is planned to be held with the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairmen.
"I mean a meeting with OSCE Minsk Group co-chairman from France," he said. "It is difficult to say when this will happen."
The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Armenian armed forces have occupied 20 per cent 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 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 and the surrounding regions.