Azernews.Az

By Gulgiz Dadashova

The Council of Youth of the European People's Party (YEPP) condemned Armenia's occupation of the Azerbaijani territories and appealed to the EU member states over the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

The call was made as a part of the resolution adopted on the European energy security by the Council during the Tirana meeting on February 9.

YEPP is the official youth wing of the European People's Party and it brings together over 57 Centre-Right youth political organizations from over 39 countries all over Europe. Founded in 1997, YEPP is now the largest political youth organization in Europe.

The European Azerbaijan Society reported that the call requests the states "to call on the Armenian government to end the occupation of Nagorno-Karabakh and parts of Azerbaijani territory.

The document states that Nagorno-Karabakh is an integral part of Azerbaijan, and the inviolability of its borders and the security of the population living in the border region must be fully ensured without delay.

"Unfortunately, the negotiations of the OSCE in the context of the so-called "Minsk group" have not been successful so far. International law must be urgently re-established in the region by the restoration of Azerbaijani control of the whole of its internationally-recognized territory," the document reads.

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 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.