Azernews.Az

By Sara Rajabova

Moschino, a world-famous Italian fashion design house, has denied Armenian media reports on plans to build a factory in the Armenian-occupied territories of Azerbaijan, Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry spokesman Elman Abdullayev told journalists on October 17.

According to the company's response to the Azerbaijani embassy in Italy, the company did not have and does not have any plans to build a factory in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan and the Armenian reports are false and groundless.

Earlier, the embassy sent an enquiry to the company's management in connection with the reports.

The Armenian media also earlier reported that another Italian fashion company, Versace, plans to start production in Nagorno-Karabakh.

This company also denied the reports, saying it "doesn't and has never had" any plans to start production in the region, which has been under Armenian occupation for more than two decades.

Armenia and Azerbaijan fought a lengthy war that ended with the signing of a fragile ceasefire in 1994. More than 20,000 Azerbaijanis were killed and over 1 million displaced as a result of the large-scale hostilities. Since the war, Armenian armed forces have occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan's territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding regions. Armenia continues the occupation in defiance of four UN Security Council resolutions calling for immediate and unconditional withdrawal.

Peace talks brokered by mediators from Russia, France and the U.S. have produced no results so far.