Baku, Azerbaijan, June 12
By Elchin Mehdiyev - Trend:
Germany is making every possible effort for the settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Thomas Oppermann, vice president of the German Bundestag, said speaking at the founding conference of the “Baku Parliamentary Platform for Dialogue and Cooperation” held in Baku, Trend reports on June 12.
He noted that Azerbaijan is a partner in the South Caucasus, in which Germany is interested, and the fifth biggest exporter of oil to this country.
He stressed that the peace negotiations will necessarily produce results.
“Efforts should be made to resolve the conflict peacefully,” he noted. “The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict lasts for decades, people suffer and face problems. Germany supports the OSCE mission in this direction. Germany is making every effort for the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Germany maintains normal relations with both Azerbaijan and Armenia.”
He expressed hope that the conflict will be resolved peacefully.
The founding conference of the “Baku Parliamentary Platform for Dialogue and Cooperation” is being held within a Parliamentary Conference on Regional Security and Cooperation, which is organized in the framework of cooperation with the OSCE PA by the Azerbaijani parliament in Baku.
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 Nagorno Karabakh and the surrounding districts.