BAKU, Azerbaijan, Oct. 10
By Elchin Mehdiyev - Trend:
Previously, negotiations over the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict were imitated, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov said.
Bayramov made the statement during a briefing held on Oct.10, Trend reports.
"At the next stage, the imitation of negotiations won't be allowed," he noted.
According to him, materials on terrorists' participation in hostilities on the side of Armenia have been collected, and these materials have been presented to the embassies of different countries and relevant international organizations.
“In the materials submitted to international organizations, we specifically indicated the violated provisions of international conventions. PKK members also took part in the battles within Armenian armed forces. Armenia's president also admitted the participation of terrorists in the battles. Armenia has always used terrorists," added the minister.
Foreign Ministers of Russia, Azerbaijan and Armenia adopted a joint document following consultations in Moscow.
The text of the document said that in response to the appeal of Russian President Vladimir Putin and in accordance with the agreements of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, the parties agreed on the following steps:
"1. A ceasefire is declared from 12:00 on October 10, 2020 for humanitarian purposes for the exchange of prisoners of war and other detained persons and bodies of the dead, mediated and in accordance with the criteria of the International Committee of the Red Cross.
2. The specific parameters of the ceasefire regime will be agreed upon additionally.
3. The Republic of Azerbaijan and the Republic of Armenia, with the mediation of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs, on the basis of the basic principles of settlement, are starting substantive negotiations with the aim of reaching a peaceful settlement as soon as possible.
4. The parties confirm the invariability of the format of the negotiation process".
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.