Azernews.Az

By Sara Rajabova

The Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict was discussed during the visit of Special Envoy of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office Andrey Deshitsa to Baku.

Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov received on Monday a delegation led by Deshitsa, the ministry said in a statement.

During the meeting, the sides exchanged views over the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict resolution, the OSCE Chairman's forthcoming visit to Azerbaijan and other issues on the agenda of the OSCE.

Mammadyarov said the delay in the settlement of the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict is the main obstacle to peace and stability in the region, and noted the importance of a withdrawal of Armenian forces from the occupied territories of Azerbaijan.

The minister noted that the political leadership of Armenia takes a non-constructive position in the negotiation process and stressed the importance of increasing the OSCE Minsk Group's mediating efforts in the settlement process.

Commenting on the commissioning of the Khojaly airport, Mammadyarov said such a move would be a serious violation of the Chicago Convention, and the international law reflects the fair position of Azerbaijan on this issue.

Earlier, Armenian media reported about the commissioning of the airport in Khojaly.

Commissioning the airport in Khojaly is an open violation of the Convention on International Civil Aviation, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry said earlier.

The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and the European Civil Aviation Conference (ICAC) support the position of Azerbaijan on this issue.

Azerbaijani Defense Minister Safar Abiyev met with OSCE Special Envoy Deshitsa on the same day. Political and military situation in the South Caucasus, as well as Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, were discussed at the meeting.

Deshitsa visited Azerbaijan on April 14-15 to discuss the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict emerged in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against the neighboring country. Since a lengthy war between the two South Caucasus countries that displaced over a million Azerbaijanis and ended with the signing of a precarious cease-fire in 1994, Armenian armed forces have occupied over 20 percent of Azerbaijan's internationally recognized territory, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

Peace talks brokered by Minsk Group co-chairs representing the United States, Russia and France have been largely fruitless so far.

The negotiations are underway on the basis of a peace outline proposed by the Minsk Group co-chairs and dubbed the Madrid Principles, also known as Basic Principles. The document envisions a return of the territories surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh to Azerbaijani control; determining the final legal status of Nagorno-Karabakh; a corridor linking Armenia to the region; and the right of all internally displaced persons to return home.