Baku, Azerbaijan, June 28
Trend:
Armenia’s occupation policy deprives it of regional cooperation, Azerbaijani Deputy Foreign Minister Mahmud Mammad-Guliyev said.
Mammad-Guliyev made the remarks during a meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC) in Yerevan.
“While delivering a speech at the meeting in Yerevan, Mammad-Guliyev stressed that the military conflict and the continuing occupation do not allow to fully use the regional trade and economic potential,” Hikmet Hajiyev, spokesman of the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry, told Trend.
Mammad-Guliyev added that Armenia’s continuation of occupation of the Azerbaijani territories eventually deprive Armenia of regional cooperation in trade, investment, transport, energy and other spheres.
He said that the states of the region should build regional cooperation and trade relations on the basis of the territorial integrity of each state, respect for the sovereignty and norms and principles of international law.
Mammad-Guliyev noted that the continuation of the occupation of Azerbaijan’s lands is regrettable reality, adding that it is important to correctly approach all issues and call problems by their names.
The deputy foreign minister added that Azerbaijan doesn’t have any claims to anyone, and stressed that the country, on the contrary, is striving for mutually beneficial cooperation to provide environment with stability and good-neighborly relations.
During his speech, Mammad-Guliyev focused on the issues of reforms necessary for BSEC, development of sectoral cooperation aimed at getting the result.
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.