Azernews.Az

Hearings on the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno Karabakh conflict will be held in the parliaments of several European countries this year, a member of the Azerbaijani delegation to the Council of Europe parliamentary assembly said.

Elkhan Suleymanov told the press Friday that the discussions are expected to be held at the fall session of the Belgian parliament, and a resolution on Nagorno Karabakh is due to be adopted. Also, hearings on the Armenia-occupied territories of Azerbaijan will be held in the Spanish parliament in June and the Italian parliament in September, he said.

``The Italian parliament has already adopted a document this year that supports Azerbaijan`s position in the Nagorno Karabakh conflict. It will discuss the issue again in September this year.

``It is important when the parliaments of other countries recognize the realities of the Nagorno Karabakh and Khojaly genocide [committed by Armenians against Azerbaijanis during the Karabakh war in 1992],`` he said.

Suleymanov said several issues related to the material and moral damage caused to Azerbaijan as a result of the Armenian occupation have been studied and a book is being compiled on the basis of these materials. ``The historical and geopolitical roots of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict are studied in the book.``

Suleymanov, who is the author of the book, said it will be published in Russian, English, Italian, and French, and its copies will be sent to the parliaments of many European countries.

He also said that damage totaling $431 billion had been caused to Azerbaijan as a result of the Karabakh conflict.

The Nagorno Karabakh conflict emerged in 1988 over Armenia`s territorial claims against Azerbaijan. The ensuing war claimed some 30,000 lives and displaced up to a million Azerbaijanis. About 20 percent of Azerbaijani territory, including the Nagorno Karabakh region, has been occupied by Armenian armed forces since a ceasefire was signed in 1994. Peace talks have been largely fruitless so far.