Armenian troops’ presence in occupied territories only reason for conflict
By Akbar Mammadov
Head of Nagorno-Karabakh's Azerbaijani community Tural Ganjaliyev has said that the existence of Armenian troops in Azerbaijan’s occupied territories is the only impediment to the peace between the two nations.
“I restate that the only impediment to the peaceful coexistence of the two communities is the presence of Armenian troops in Azerbaijan's territories,” Ganjaliyev said.
Ganjaliyev made the remarks while commenting on the panic within the Armenian political circles over Turkish Foreign Minister Movlut Cavusoglu’s March 2 meeting in Ankara with the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs that mediates the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia. During the meeting held on March 2, Cavushoghlu urged the resolution of the conflict within Azerbaijan's territorial integrity.
“As the elected representative of Azerbaijan’s Nagorno-Karabakh region, I state that Turkey is one of the members of the OSCE Minsk Group. Therefore it is not surprising that the Turkish foreign minister held a meeting with the co-chairs. At the same time, Turkey is interested in the solution of the existing conflicts as a country contributing to the security and progress both at the international and regional levels,” Ganjaliyev said.
“In fact, the panic arising within the Armenian political circles after the above mentioned meeting, shows that they are not interested in solving the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, and seek to maintain their policy of invasion. The non-constructive position of aggressive Armenia’s political circles is directed against the resolution of the conflict, termination of Armenian occupation and achieving peace in the region," Ganjaliyev stressed.
The head of the Community said that return of Azerbaijani IDPs to their occupied lands and the withdrawal of Armenian troops is prerequisite to the peaceful coexistence of Karabakh's Azerbaijani and Armenian coomunities.
The OSCE Minsk Group co-chaired by the United States, Russia and France has been mediating the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict since the signing of the volatile cease-fire agreement in 1994. The Minsk Group’s efforts have resulted in no progress and to this date, Armenia has failed to abide by the UN Security Council resolutions (822, 853, 874 and 884) that demand the withdrawal of Armenian military forces from the occupied territories of Azerbaijan.
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Akbar Mammadov is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @AkbarMammadov97
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