Azernews.Az

By Rashid Shirinov

The main obstacle to the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is the continuation of occupation of Azerbaijan's territories by Armenia, policy of annexation pursued by Yerevan and impossibility for IDPs to return to their homes, said Hikmet Hajiyev, Spokesman for Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry.

Speaking about the occupation of Fuzuli and Jabrayil regions of Azerbaijan by Armenian Armed Forces in August of 1993, he told APA that the fact of the occupation was reflected in several resolutions of the UN Security Council and numerous international documents.

He recalled that the UNSC resolutions and other international documents related to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and adopted in 1993 condemn the occupation and demand liberation of the occupied lands.

Armenia, ignoring all the calls of the UN Security Council and continuing the military aggression against Azerbaijan, occupied the Fuzuli region on August 23, 1993. On the same day, the Armenian Armed Forces occupied the Jabrayil region, and then Qubadli on August 31, 1993.

“Azerbaijan has repeatedly stated that to achieve progress in the conflict settlement and sustainable peace in the region, as UN Security Council resolutions require, Armenian troops should be withdrawn from the occupied territories of Azerbaijan,” the spokesman noted.

Armenia broke out a lengthy war against Azerbaijan laying territorial claims on its South Caucasus neighbor. Since a war in the early 1990s, Armenian armed forces have occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan's territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding regions. More than 20,000 Azerbaijanis were killed and over 1 million were displaced as a result of the large-scale hostilities.

Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding districts.

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Rashid Shirinov is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @RashidShirinov

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