German envoy: Serious talks should be conducted on Nagorno-Karabakh conflict
By Rashid Shirinov
German Ambassador to Baku Michael Kindsgrab noted the necessity of holding serious talks on the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict resolution.
“In June last year, Germany’s former Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier visited Azerbaijan and said that the April events showed the need to change the status quo. The position of Germany on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is that it is necessary to conduct serious talks,” the ambassador said in Gusar region on March 10, according to Report.
Kindsgrab regretted that there were losses and young soldiers were killed during the events on the contact line between the Armenian and Azerbaijani troops. “It was a big tragedy because families lose their sons,” the ambassador said.
The envoy also emphasized that Germany has always recognized the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan. “The conflict should be resolved by peaceful means on the basis of the Madrid principles,” Kindsgrab noted.
Armenia broke out a lengthy war against Azerbaijan laying territorial claims on its South Caucasus neighbor. Since a war in the early 1990s, 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.
Armenia has not yet implemented 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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