Azernews.Az

By Mushvig Mehdiyev

Belgium's approach towards the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan supports all efforts for a speedy settlement.

Chairman of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, Belgian Foreign Minister, Didier Reynders said territorial integrity has to be used as a major basis for the resolution of the conflict.

"We adhere to the position calling for the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict within the territorial integrity of the country," he said at a press conference in Baku on April 28.

Back in 1992, following a violent and bloody conflict, Armenia occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts plunging the South Caucasus region into a protracted conflict. Armenia has yet to comply with UN Security Council resolutions calling for the liberation of all occupied territories.

Reynders also touched upon the issue of Azerbaijani refugees and internally displaced persons who were coercively expelled from their native lands as a result of Armenian aggression.

"It is necessary to solve all problems so that refugees and IDPs would come back to their native lands as soon as possible," he said.

The conflict led to the death of more than 20,000 Azerbaijanis, while 50,000 people were injured and over 1 million were displaced. The total cost of the damages inflicted by Armenia's aggressive policy against Azerbaijan stands at $300 billion, according to the State Commission on Prisoners of War, Hostages and Missing Persons.

Besides the Nagorno-Karabakh problem, Reynders discussed the issues of bilateral cooperation, and democratic values in Baku.

He said the energy sector is one of the priorities for Belgium in its bilateral relations with Azerbaijan.

"We are ready to deepen mutual cooperation in this field and to expand the legal framework between Azerbaijan and Belgium," Reynders noted.

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