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FM Mammadyarov: Status quo in Karabakh conflict unacceptable [UPDATE]

8 December 2016 17:10 (UTC+04:00)
FM Mammadyarov: Status quo in Karabakh conflict unacceptable [UPDATE]

By Gunay Camal

Azerbaijan is the most interested party in moving beyond the current status-quo in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, said Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov.

Mammadyarov made the remarks during the OSCE Ministerial Council meeting in Hamburg on December 8.

The minister emphasized that the unlawful presence of the armed forces of Armenia in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan remains the main cause of escalation in the conflict zone and is the major impediment to political settlement of the conflict.

Mammadyarov hailed the existence of almost a unanimous position within OSCE that the status-quo in the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is unsustainable and must change, emphasizing that Azerbaijan is the most interested party in moving beyond the current status-quo.

“In this context, we assess the high-level substantive discussions in Vienna and St. Petersburg as positive steps in the right direction and we are thankful to the Co-chair countries, particularly to President of the Russian Federation, Mr. Vladimir Putin, for all his efforts in this regard. We must sustain the momentum and transform the understandings reached in those meetings into concrete actions without further delay,” he said noting that Baku expects the OSCE and its Minsk Group to play an instrumental role to this end.

The minister went on to say that a step-by-step elimination of the consequences of the conflict, starting with withdrawal of the Armenian armed forces from the occupied territories of Azerbaijan, restoration of regional transportation and communication links and safe and dignified return of displaced persons to their places of origin, while addressing security concerns appropriately, will transform the conflict dynamics and significantly improve the overall security environment in the whole region.

This approach is based on the relevant U.N. Security Council resolutions and affirmed in the decisions of the OSCE, notably in the Budapest Summit decision of 1994, according to the minister.

“As confidence-building measures, agreement was reached to expand the Office of the Permanent Representative of the Chairman-in-Office, provided that this expansion is synchronized with substantive negotiations and does not change Office’s mandate and modus operandi. Azerbaijan submitted its proposal in this regard and we expect constructive talks to this end as we are speaking about activities of this mission on the sovereign and internationally recognized territories of Azerbaijan,” he said.

The minister further voiced regret over the position of Yerevan, saying :“Unfortunately, statements that we hear through the last few months from the Armenian side do not give a reason for optimism and indicate the apparent unwillingness of the Armenian side to engage constructively in result-oriented talks.”

He noted that attempts to precondition the substantive negotiations undermine the Vienna and St. Petersburg agreements and pursue the obvious goal to derail the peace process. Continued efforts of Armenia to strengthen its military build-up in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan, illegally change the demographic, cultural and physical character of these territories undermine trust and reveal true intentions of the Armenian side.

“The months ahead will demonstrate if Armenia is a serious partner for peace, genuinely interested in engaging constructively in substantive negotiations to resolve the conflict or we will continue down the road of further instability and conflict,” he said.

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, in 1992 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 withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.

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