Azernews.Az

By Sara Rajabova

Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov has said that Nagorno-Karabakh conflict hinders the completion of the Southern Gas Corridor (SGC).

"Regional conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia is not a "frozen" conflict. It might be a problem on the way of completion of the construction," Mammadyarov said during panel discussions of Caspian Forum in New York.

"Armenian armed forces occupied Azerbaijani territories, committed ethnic cleansing. But I have a positive view, how we should keep up the sustainable development. The question is not only oil and gas, in general, it is related to the development of the region. It is a message to our Armenian neighbors ", Mammadyarov said.

He said Azerbaijan is ready to assist Armenia, if this country obeys the norms of the international law.

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 caused a brutal war in the early 1990s. Long-standing efforts by US, Russian and French mediators have been largely fruitless so far.

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.

The UN Security Council has passed four resolutions on Armenian withdrawal from the Azerbaijani territory, but they have not been enforced to this day.