Azernews.Az

By Rashid Shirinov

Deputy Foreign Minister of Norway Tone Skogen has called on the OSCE Chairman to protect the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan.

Skogen, while addressing the OSCE Informal Ministerial Meeting in Austria this week, said that during the crisis period, changes in security landscapes and an uncertain future, the international cooperation based on common principles and norms is more important than ever.

“The OSCE commitments are our common heritage, carefully developed on the basis of consensus. We must confirm these standards and this spirit of cooperation, "Skogen said, appealing to OSCE Chairman-in-Office Sebastian Kurtz.

“Unfortunately, some participating states do not fulfill their obligations to the OSCE,” she said. “This is the reason of the impasse, in which we are now. This is the reason for the lack of trust and compromise in our organization. Threats and violations of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the member states remain, whether in Ukraine, Georgia, Moldova or Azerbaijan. This is a threat to the international order and our common security.”

She added that the unity can only be built on full respect for the OSCE commitments and international law.

For about three decades Armenia and Azerbaijan are in a state of war following Yerevan’s aggression, ethnic cleansing policy and illegal territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Armenia keeps under control over 20 percent of Azerbaijan's internationally recognized territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven adjacent regions in a brutal war in the early 1990s.

Despite a fragile ceasefire agreement signed in 1994, Armenia keeps violating armistice with Azerbaijan.

The OSCE Minsk Group mediators from Russia, France and the United States, who are engaged as a mediator in the conflict resolution, have failed to achieve any tangible result so far.

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

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