Baku, Azerbaijan, Sept. 1
By Elmira Tariverdiyeva - Trend:
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov arrived in Azerbaijan, a diplomatic source told Trend.
The various aspects of bilateral relations, the settlement of the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and the role of Russia as a co-chairing country of the OSCE Minsk Group in the conflict settlement were discussed during Lavrov's visit, spokesman for the Azerbaijani foreign ministry Hikmet Hajiyev told Trend earlier.
The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.
The two countries signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group, Russia, France and the US are currently holding peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented the UN Security Council's four resolutions on the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding regions.