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UN Sec. Gen. lauds meeting of Azerbaijani, Armenian FMs

27 September 2017 17:11 (UTC+04:00)
UN Sec. Gen. lauds meeting of Azerbaijani, Armenian FMs

By Rashid Shirinov

The UN Secretary-General has called on Azerbaijan and Armenia to make efforts to strengthen the atmosphere of confidence and intensify the negotiation process for the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

Spokesman for UN Secretary-General Stephane Dujarric read out Antonio Guterres’s statement on September 26.

Guterres welcomed the recent meeting of the Armenian and Azerbaijani Foreign Ministers and the co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group in New York.

He further expressed support for the work of the Minsk Group co-chairs to de-escalate tensions and reinvigorate the negotiation process.

“The Secretary-General hopes that the planned summit meeting at the presidential level would contribute to enhancing confidence and fostering the necessary political will among the parties to find peaceful compromise solutions to the key outstanding issues,” the statement reads.

In New York, the parties discussed the current situation in the conflict zone and exchanged views on the settlement of the long-standing Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. They also mulled the organization of a meeting between Azerbaijani and Armenian Presidents in the near future.

The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict 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 regions. More than 20,000 Azerbaijanis were killed and over 1 million were displaced as a result of the large-scale hostilities. The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations.

Armenia still controls fifth part of Azerbaijan's territory and rejects implementing four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding districts.

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

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz

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