BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 4
Trend:
Azerbaijan's position on the settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is clear and unchangeable, Spokesperson for the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry Leyla Abdullayeva said, Trend reports on May 4.
Abdullayeva was commenting on the statement by Armenian Foreign Minister Mnatsakanyan at the meeting of the Commission of the Parliament about the step by step settlement of the conflict.
"The conflict has to be resolved in accordance with the principles of the UN Charter and the Helsinki Final Act and the requirements of the related UN Security Council resolutions. Armenian armed forces should be withdrawn from all the occupied territories of Azerbaijan and IDPs expelled from these lands must return to their homes. There is no room for additional comment on this issue," she concluded.
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, 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 the withdrawal of its armed forces from Nagorno Karabakh and the surrounding districts.