Azerbaijan, Baku, Oct.29 / Trend M. Aliyev /
Armenians have fully destroyed valuable trees in the Azerbaijani occupied Zangilan region. These trees were used as working material. The large-scale fires have been repeatedly committed in the forests, the Azerbaijani Ecology and Natural Resources Ministry said.
The Ministry said that the investigations found that the Armenians fully cut down the forestry in the Topmeshe area of the Zangilan region and used such valuable trees as walnut, eastern plane tree, and others as working material.
The Armenians have repeatedly committed arsons in the Bartaz and Vezhneli areas, they set fire to an administrative building of the Forestry Department of the region, felled two hectares of plantations, including such valuable species of perennial trees such as walnut, plane tree and pine.
The 40-50-year-old walnut trees covering 55 hectares in the Dashbashi and Leshkar forests have been felled and transported, an oak forest was subjected to felling in the Top and Shukurtaz forestry, the trees of which were 350-400 year-old. Later, the area was burned.
October 29 sees seventeen years of occupation of the Azerbaijani Zangilan region by the Armenian Armed Forces.
A conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Armenian armed forces have occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan since 1992, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts. Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994.
The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group - Russia, France, and the U.S. - are currently holding negotiations to resolve the dispute.
Armenia has failed to implement UN Security Council resolutions stipulating the liberation of Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding regions.