Azernews.Az

BAKU – Roland Kobia, head of the European Union delegation to Azerbaijan, has said the EU hopes that substantial dialog and efforts will foster a settlement to the Nagorno Karabakh conflict and Azerbaijan will restore its territorial integrity.

Kobia told journalists that talks to resolve the dispute were ongoing very intensely and particular activeness was being seen in the negotiations.

"I think that suitable conditions should be provided for one-on-one encounters of the two parties, because there is a need for this. Our goal is to bring positive points to the process as much as possible. Azerbaijan is experiencing a problem of ensuring its territorial integrity, and people are suffering. Though not that evidently, we are closely following this."

Azerbaijan and Armenia have been locked in conflict for two decades. OSCE-brokered peace talks kicked off after a lengthy war that ended with the signing of a shaky cease-fire in 1994. Armenian armed forces continue to occupy over 20 percent of Azerbaijan’s internationally recognized territory. The ceasefire accord was signed in 1994, but peace talks have been largely fruitless so far and IDPs have still not returned to their homes.