France ready to host Azerbaijani, Armenian presidents for Karabakh talks
By Rashid Shirinov
French President Francois Hollande has expressed a willingness to host the leaders of Azerbaijan and Armenia, Ilham Aliyev and Serzh Sargsyan, in the framework of the negotiation process on the settlement of Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, RIA Novosti stated.
Hollande announced about this in his letter to Sargsyan in connection with the Independence Day of Armenia.
“Let me reaffirm my commitment aimed at a just and stable settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict through negotiations. I am ready to host a meeting in Paris to discuss measures for the advancement of this extremely lengthy conflict,” Hollande noted.
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.
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 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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