Azernews.Az

Armenian Foreign Minister Eduard Nalbandian has claimed that the status of Upper (Nagorno) Garabagh, an Azerbaijani region under Armenian occupation, is currently the only issue being discussed in talks on resolving the conflict between the two South Caucasus republics.
He alleged that other issues are not under discussion, as "the status and security are the top priorities" for Yerevan.
"I am using the word ‘security’ in a wide spectrum, which refers to the overland road connecting Armenia [with Upper Garabagh]. And, it is not about this component alone," Nalbandian said in parliament.
Upper Garabagh is linked with Armenia’s territory through a road often referred to as the Lachin corridor.
Nalbandian ruled out a solution of the Garabagh problem over three to four months, adding that this was "quite a lengthy process."
Azerbaijan and Armenia fought a lengthy war that ended with the signing of a cease-fire in 1994, but Armenia continues to occupy Upper Garabagh and seven other Azerbaijani districts in defiance of international law. Despite numerous rounds of OSCE-brokered negotiations, peace talks have been fruitless so far and refugees remain stranded. Baku says the occupied districts must be freed and Azerbaijani refugees displaced during the armed conflict in the early 1990s returned home, and only after that could the status of Upper Garabagh be determined within the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan.*