Baku, Azerbaijan, May 12
By Seba Aghayeva - Trend:
Armenia continues to ignore the appeals of the international community to put an end to the occupation of Azerbaijani territories and commits war crimes against the civilian population of Azerbaijan, Elmar Mammadyarov, Azerbaijani foreign minister, said.
Mammadyarov made a report at the German Council on Foreign Relations as part of the official visit to Germany, the Azerbaijani foreign ministry said May 12.
Mammadyarov stressed the importance of intensifying the OSCE's efforts in resolving the conflict and expressed the hope that Germany during its chairmanship in the OSCE will be able to make contribution in this issue.
"First of all, the Armenian troops must be withdrawn from the occupied Azerbaijani territories to resolve the conflict," the minister said, adding that it is necessary to put an end to the occupation and launch a comprehensive political process.
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 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.