Baku, Azerbaijan, Sept. 22
By Ilhama Isabalayeva – Trend:
Armenia occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijani lands and these territories are under occupation for 25 years, said Fuad Muradov, member of the Azerbaijani parliament and head of the Azerbaijani delegation to the Euronest PA.
He made the remarks at the conference on involving parliaments of the Eastern Partnership countries in promoting gender equality and women’s health as part of the Sustainable Development Goals, held with participation of the Euronest PA Committee on Social Affairs, Education, Culture and Civil Society, in Baku Sept. 22.
According to Muradov, the occupation of Azerbaijani lands by Armenia is one of the main reasons preventing achievement of great success.
“More than one million Azerbaijanis are refugees and IDPs, and 50 percent of them are women, five percent are children. Our goal in the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals is to ensure that each organization fulfills its tasks,” said the Azerbaijani MP.
Muradov stated that as part of the Euronest PA, several events are planned to be held throughout 2017.
“I believe that discussions, which will affect our future activities, will be held at today’s event,” he added.
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.