Azernews.Az

By Nazrin Gadimova

Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov has met with a European Parliament delegation which is on an official visit to Azerbaijan.

According to the Foreign Ministry, Mammadyarov said the cooperation between Azerbaijan and the European Parliament is at a high level and expressed confidence that such visits will make a significant contribution to the expansion of relations.

Regarding the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, the minister noted that to address the issue it is primarily necessary that Armenian armed forces withdraw from the occupied Azerbaijani territories.

Expressing regret at the four relevant UN Security Council resolutions' being unenforced, Mammadyarov said the present status quo in the conflict is unacceptable.

Armenia occupied over 20 percent of Azerbaijan's internationally recognized territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven adjacent regions, after laying territorial claims against its South Caucasus neighbor that had caused a lengthy war in the early 1990s. The UN Security Council has adopted four resolutions on Armenia's withdrawal from the Azerbaijani territory, but they have not been enforced to this day.

Members of the European Parliament said they attach great importance to the cooperation with Azerbaijan and are interested in the development of bilateral relations.

During the meeting the sides also exchanged views on the role of Azerbaijan in the energy security of Europe and the implementation of energy projects in the region.

The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union. Together with the Council of the European Union and the European Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world.