FM: Armenia disrupts negotiations on Nagorno-Karabakh conflict
By Rashid Shirinov
Armenia’s recent provocations on the line of contact between Azerbaijani and Armenian troops are deliberate and aim at escalating the situation and disrupting the negotiations, Azerbaijan’s Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov said at the meeting with OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs in Baku on June 19.
The importance of changing the current status-quo, which is unsustainable and unacceptable, through substantive negotiations was emphasized at the meeting of FM Mammadyarov with OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs Stephane Visconti, Igor Popov, Richard Hoagland and Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Andrzej Kasprzyk, Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry reported.
Mammadyarov noted that in line with the proposals on the table, the withdrawal of the Armenian armed forces from the occupied territories of Azerbaijan is crucial for achieving progress in the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
He also mentioned the illegal activities, including establishment of settlements, destruction of cultural heritage, organization of illegal flights and other illegal economic actions conducted by Armenia in the occupied Azerbaijani territories. Mammadyarov added that such illegal activities by Armenia seriously impede the negotiation process.
At the meeting, the sides also noted the importance of intensifying the negotiation process.
Previously, the Minsk Group discussed this Nagorno-Karabakh problem with the Azerbaijani president and defense minister in Baku as part of their visit to the region.
Armenia broke out a lengthy war against Azerbaijan by 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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