Azernews.Az

By Akbar Mammadov

Azerbaijan’s Foreign Minister Ceyhun Bayramov has said that the negotiations over the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict "must be substantive rather than an imitation of the negotiation process."

Bayramov made the remarks on August 26, during his first visit to Russia since his appointment as the country's Foreign Minister.

Addressing the presser following the meeting with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov, Bayramov said that Azerbaijan's position on the settlement of the conflict is based on the norms and principles of international law, as well as the documents adopted by international organizations, primarily the resolutions of the UN Security Council.

“I would like to emphasize Azerbaijan's constructive position in the process of negotiations on the settlement of the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. For almost 30 years, despite the occupation of 20 per cent of Azerbaijani lands by Armenia, Azerbaijan continues to participate in the negotiation process,” he noted.

The minister stressed that Azerbaijan supports a political solution to the conflict.

“There is a sufficient legal basis for resolving the conflict. Negotiations should be conducted in accordance with the documents adopted by international organizations, first of all, four resolutions adopted by the UN Security Council and a number of documents adopted by other international organizations in recent years,” Bayramov added.

The ministry also said that Azerbaijan pins special hopes on the active role of Russia in the settlement of the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

“With regret, I would like to note that there has been no progress in the settlement of the conflict. Armenia continues to hold 20 per cent of Azerbaijan's internationally recognized territory under occupation,” Bayramov said.

The minister said that Russia is the co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group, a permanent member of the UN Security Council and the largest regional power with long-standing close ties with the South Caucasus region.

Speaking about the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Bayramov pointed out that the region’s Azerbaijani population have been expelled from their homes and Armenia is currently illegally settling in the occupied territories ethnic Armenians from abroad, including from the Middle East, which constitutes a gross violation of international humanitarian law, primarily the Geneva Conventions.

The minister noted that Armenia continues to undermine the peace process under the auspices of the OSCE. He reminded Armenia’s military provocation on the border on July 12-16 that killed Azerbaijani servicemen and a 76-year-old resident of an Azerbaijani village. The minister underlined that Armenia made an attempt to seize Azerbaijani territories during the attack on the border Tovuz district.

Furhtermore, Bayramov emphasized that all actions and statements that harm the negotiation process must be condemned by the international community, especially the co-chairs of the Minsk Group.

In turn, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that it is important to provide the necessary atmosphere for a sustainable negotiation process to resolve the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

“Our common attitude, as I understand it, is to continue the settlement process. And in this sense, it is important to provide the necessary atmosphere in order to establish a stable, sustainable negotiation process. Negotiations are not for the sake of negotiations, but of course, aimed at achieving a peaceful solution to the Karabakh issue,” Lavrov noted.

It should be noted that Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu is in a visit in Azerbaijan and was received by President Ilham Aliyev on August 25 and Defence Minister Zakir Hasanov. On the same day, Shoigu and Hasanov attended the opening ceremony of annual Sea Cup miliary competition held in Baku as part of the Army Games competition held by the Russian Defence Ministry annually.

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Akbar Mammadov is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @AkbarMammadov97

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