OSCE PA: Nagorno-Karabakh conflict should be given more attention
By Rashid Shirinov
Conflicts in Nagorno-Karabakh and Ukraine should be given more attention, said George Tsereteli, President of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly on December 7.
He made the remarks while addressing foreign ministers at the OSCE’s 24th Ministerial Council in Vienna.
“As President of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, I am equally concerned by all conflicts around the OSCE area,” he said.
Tsereteli added that increasingly intense hostilities over Nagorno-Karabakh are a cause for deep concern.
Lithuanian Foreign Minister Linas Linkevicius, in turn, also touched upon the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict while addressing the Ministerial Council.
“Unresolved conflicts in Moldova, Ukraine and the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict impede the strengthening of security in the region,” he said.
Foreign Minister of Montenegro Srdjan Darmanovic, who also addressed the event, said positive signs have been recently observed in the settlement of conflicts in the OSCE region, including the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
The minister also noted the need for peaceful resolution of conflicts on the basis of the fundamental principles of the UN Charter and the Helsinki Final Act.
Azerbaijan and Armenia fought a lengthy war that ended with signing of a fragile ceasefire in 1994. Since the war, 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.
While the OSCE Minsk Group acted as the only mediator in resolution of the conflict, the occupation of the territory of the sovereign state with its internationally recognized boundaries has been left out of due attention of the international community for years.
Until now, Armenia ignores four UN Security Council resolutions on immediate withdrawal from the occupied territory of Azerbaijan, thus keeping tension high in the region.
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Rashid Shirinov is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @RashidShirinov
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