Azernews.Az

BAKU – Armenia is trying to drag out talks on the Nagorno Karabakh conflict by various moves, ignoring "all values" and international law, an Azerbaijani lawmaker told the Council of Europe parliamentary assembly on Tuesday.

Sahiba Gafarova, a member of the Azerbaijani delegation to PACE, told a debate, titled "Co-existence in Europe in the 21st century", that the lingering Karabakh conflict is a major threat to peace and security in the region.

"The Armenian occupation of Azerbaijan’s Nagorno Karabakh territory and seven surrounding regions has destabilized the situation in the region," she said during the discussions, held as part of PACE’s summer session. "And though the ceasefire regime was put in place in 1994 [following a lengthy war] and peace talks began, a solution of the conflict has not yet been achieved."

Gafarova noted that since the very beginning of the negotiating process, Baku has been committed to seeking fair and compromise-based solutions leaning on international law.

The MP said the existence of a conflict in Europe that has been unresolved for two decades contradicts both human rights and the principles of international law, and also questions international calls for a peaceful co-existence of nations.

Speaking of the environment of tolerance that has been created in Azerbaijan, Gafarova said her country is home to a number of nations and people of different faiths living in peace and friendship.

"Today, the Christian community of Azerbaijan enjoys equal rights in this predominantly Muslim country," she said. "Our country’s treatment of its citizens is not based on any religious, ethnic or racial grounds. It is for this reason that regardless of being Azerbaijani, Russian, Jewish, Georgian, etc., all of our citizens are proud to live for the sake of common values and interests."*