Azernews.Az

BAKU – Azerbaijan is seeking to establish peace and stability in the Caucasus region, and these efforts primarily aim to settle the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict with Armenia, Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov said in an interview with Russia Today TV channel's Arabic service.

"It is impossible to establish and maintain neighborly relations in the 21st century while turning a blind eye to the occupation of 20 percent of Azerbaijani territories and ethnic cleansing against the Azerbaijani population in these territories," Mammadyarov said.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Armenian armed forces occupy 20 percent of Azerbaijan’s territory, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group - Russia, France, and the United States - are mediating peace talks.

Armenia has not yet implemented the U.N. Security Council's four resolutions on the liberation of Nagorno-Karabakh and the adjacent regions.

The minister said Azerbaijan believes that it is necessary to seek a peaceful settlement of the conflict that would ensure the interests of both sides.

"I came to Moscow to continue seeking a way out of this conflict with Russia's mediation," Mammadyarov said.

Azerbaijani, Armenian and Russian foreign ministers Elmar Mammadyarov, Edward Nalbandian and Sergei Lavrov held negotiations on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict on Russia's initiative in the country’s Foreign Ministry on Monday.

Despite the signing of the ceasefire agreement between the two countries, people continue to be killed on the "contact line" of their troops, Mammadyarov said.

"We must do everything necessary to solve this problem," he said.

According to him, Armenian troops must be withdrawn from the occupied territories, as was envisaged in the basic document of the negotiations - the Madrid Principles. Azerbaijani refugees must return to their places of residence; and infrastructure in the occupied territories must be restored, which is reflected in the Madrid Document.

"The current situation cannot last forever. We must use all means available to achieve progress in the Nagorno Karabakh conflict," Mammadyarov said.

He stressed Russian President Dmitry Medvedev's role in reaching the recent agreement between the conflicting sides on the exchange of prisoners and dead bodies.

Astrakhan hosted a trilateral meeting of the presidents of Azerbaijan, Armenia and Russia - Ilham Aliyev, Serzh Sargsyan and Dmitry Medvedev - on October 27. The parties signed a declaration envisaging the return of POWs.

Mammadyarov also termed as successful the Meindorf Declaration, which meets all the international principles. The document was adopted in the Meindorf castle near Moscow on November 2, 2008 after a meeting of Azerbaijani, Armenian and Russian presidents. It particularly notes that a resolution of the conflict based on the norms of international law, as well as decisions and documents adopted in this framework, will create favorable conditions for economic development and cooperation in the region.

The declaration also states that Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan have agreed that achieving a peaceful Karabakh settlement should be supplemented by legally binding international guarantees.

Mammadyarov expressed disappointment with Armenia's failure to fulfill four UN Security Council resolutions envisaging a withdrawal of its troops from the Azerbaijani territories and return of refugees to their homes. All these calls merely remain on paper, he said.

"In addition, there are PACE and Council of Europe resolutions which indicate that this problem should be resolved step-by step and the territories must be freed, as the occupation of another country's territory is unacceptable," Mammadyarov said.

The minister also spoke of Azerbaijan’s foreign policy priorities. He said that among Baku’s primary goals was strengthening relations with the country’s neighbors, particularly Russia.