Baku, Azerbaijan, Sept. 26
By Elchin Mehdiyev – Trend:
A delegation led by Kristian Vigenin, special representative of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly (PA) for South Caucasus, met with Bahar Muradova, vice speaker of Azerbaijan’s parliament and head of the Azerbaijani delegation to the OSCE PA, a source in the parliament told Trend.
At the meeting, Muradova said that as a result of work with the representatives of parliaments of the OSCE member countries for many years, Azerbaijan has serious experience of cooperation in eliminating the difficulties and problems that arise in the OSCE region.
She noted that delaying the settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict threatens the OSCE region as a whole.
“Therefore, those who have all the necessary capabilities and mandate should contribute to the problem’s solution,” Muradova said.
Kristian Vigenin, in turn, said the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is a matter of great importance on the agenda of the OSCE PA.
Vigenin said the visit of OSCE PA President Christine Muttonen to South Caucasus in early September once again confirms that all possible measures should be taken for settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
OSCE PA is ready to support any steps that can be taken to resolve the problem peacefully, he noted, adding that OSCE PA cannot accept preservation of status quo in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and turn a blind eye to this problem.
OSCE PA must achieve a solution to the problem, Vigenin said.
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.