Azernews.Az

Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov has received a delegation headed by Deputy Foreign Minister, Swiss Secretary of State Yves Rocher, the Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday, Trend news agency reported.

Both sides expressed satisfaction with their relations and they stressed the importance of the strengthening of the legal framework between the two countries.

Mammadyarov informed the Swiss Secretary of State about regional energy projects and Azerbaijan's role in ensuring Europe's energy security.

While informing the Swiss official about the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Mammadyarov stressed the importance of changing the status quo and added that Armenian armed forces must withdraw from the occupied Azerbaijani territories in order to resolve the conflict. He emphasized that negotiations must be conducted in order to achieve the desired result.

He noted that the withdrawal of Armenian forces from occupied Azerbaijani territories would create broad opportunities for conflict settlement.

Mammadyarov said that the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is not a frozen conflict. He stressed the importance of conducting significant operations to resolve this conflict and to ensure peace in the region.

Both sides stressed the importance of meetings between the Azerbaijani and Armenian communities of Nagorno-Karabakh.

They added that Azerbaijan's position is based on international law.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Armenian armed forces have occupied 20 per cent of Azerbaijan since 1992, 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 U.S. - are currently holding the peace negotiations.
Armenia has not yet implemented the U.N. Security Council's four resolutions on the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding regions.