Azernews.Az

BAKU - Azerbaijan has given its consent to the OSCE Minsk Group proposal on Armenian withdrawal from the occupied Kalbajar and Lachin regions in five year term, Azeri Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov said at a news conference in Baku Thursday.
Mammadyarov said that during Robert Kocharian's presidency Armenia was proposing to withdraw from the Kalbajar and Lachin regions in 10 year term. But Azerbaijan insisted on one year.
"Later, Yerevan reduced the withdrawal term to up to seven years under President Serzh Sargsyan, while Baku agreed to three years," Azeri foreign minister said.
Then, the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs proposed five year term for Armenian withdrawal from the two occupied Azeri regions. Azerbaijan agreed to the proposal.
Mammadyarov said that Russia made several proposals to resolve the long-standing conflict during the latest meeting between the Azeri and Armenian presidents in St. Petersburg, Russia. "The Kalbajar and Lachin regions were also discussed," he added.
The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries started in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims to Azerbaijan. Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the disputed Upper (Nagorno) Garabagh and seven other regions surrounding it.
The peace talks that have been brokered by the OSCE Minsk Group, which include Russia, France, and the United States, brought no results yet. Azerbaijan and Armenia are in a ceasefire agreement since 1994.
Armenia has not yet implemented the U.N. Security Council resolutions demanding the unconditional withdrawal from the occupied Azerbaijani lands, including the Upper (Nagorno) Garabagh and seven other regions surrounding it.