Azernews.Az

Resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict will be a priority issue at the upcoming meeting of Azerbaijan and France's presidents, a senior Azerbaijani official has said, commenting on the current working visit of President Ilham Aliyev to France, which started on Monday.

Ali Hasanov, the Presidential Administration's head of social and political affairs, noted that the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh remains a priority during all visits and meetings of President Aliyev with other countries' presidents.

"France is a co-chair country of the [mediating] OSCE Minsk Group, and during the meeting with this country's president, the Nagorno-Karabakh problem, as well as the situation and prospects of the conflict settlement...Azerbaijan's position and OSCE Minsk Group's activity and future steps will be discussed," Hasanov said.

The Karabakh conflict emerged in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. The two countries fought a lengthy war that ended with the signing of a precarious cease-fire in 1994. Armenian armed forces have since occupied over 20 percent of Azerbaijan's internationally recognized territory, including Nagorno Karabakh, defying international calls and UN resolutions. Peace talks, brokered by the United States, Russia and France through the Minsk Group, have been largely fruitless so far.

Armenia has not yet implemented the U.N. Security Council's four resolutions on a pullout from Nagorno-Karabakh and the seven surrounding regions.