Azernews.Az

By Sara Rajabova

Nagorno-Karabakh is an integral part of Azerbaijan, former Turkish Foreign Minister Hikmet Cetin has said, pointing to the Armenian occupation of 20 percent of Azerbaijani territory.

"Over a million people are IDPs and refugees. All this clearly shows that a fair and final solution to the conflict should be found. The problem should be resolved," he told the panel, "Protracted conflicts in the South Caucasus: a way out of the difficult situation" at the Azerbaijan Diplomatic Academy (ADA), held within a forum organized by the Center for Strategic Studies under the President of Azerbaijan.

Cetin termed the protracted conflicts "poisons hindering the region's economic development".

According to him, the conflicts in the Middle East, the Balkans and the South Caucasus raise a range of issues.

"Three or four conflicts continue in the South Caucasus which negatively affect the security of this important region and hinder cooperation with neighbors," Cetin said, stressing that the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict should be resolved for maintaining stability and security in the region.

The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict emerged in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Since the 1990s war that displaced over one million Azerbaijanis, Armenian armed forces have occupied over 20 percent of Azerbaijan's internationally recognized territory. The UN Security Council's four resolutions on Armenian withdrawal have not been enforced to this day.

As a result of the military aggression of Armenia, over 20,000 Azerbaijanis were killed, 4,866 are reported missing and almost 100,000 were injured, and 50,000 were disabled.

According to Cetin, though the OSCE Minsk Group has been engaged in resolving the conflict for a long time, it has failed to achieve specific results.

The former Turkish minister emphasized that the Minsk Group is in need of new ideas.

"Azerbaijan can't wait for another 20 years. The OSCE Minsk Group should propose new ideas. The urgency of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict causes problems in international security. The occupation of Azerbaijani territories hinders important economic cooperation. The more the conflict lingers on, the more complicated it becomes. The solution of the Cyprus, Abkhaz and Ossetian conflicts is easier than Nagorno-Karabakh," he said.

According to Cetin, a stage-by-stage solution to the conflict could be pursued, but the main thing is support from the U.S and Russia.

Regarding his vision of the conflict resolution, the former minister noted that in the first place, five regions should be liberated, following which representatives of Azerbaijan, Turkey and Armenia could meet and begin discussions including in connection with the opening of borders.

"It is necessary to liberate five regions in the first stage and withdraw Armenian troops to regain the seized regions," he said.

The OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs representing the United States, Russia and France have long been mediating peace talks. The negotiations 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.