Azerbaijani top diplomat mulls Nagorno-Karabakh on sidelines of Munich Conference
By Sara Rajabova
The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict settlement was in spotlight of the discussions during Azerbaijani Foreign Minister's meetings on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference.
During the meeting with Lamberto Zannier, OSCE Secretary General on February 1, Elmar Mammadyarov briefed about the peaceful settlement of the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan, Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry reported.
Zannier expressed his concern over the recent violations of the ceasefire on the front-line.
Armenian armed forces have recently violated the ceasefire over 1,000 times, killing two Azerbaijani army officers and wounding one civilian.
Mammadyarov stressed that in order to ensure the peaceful settlement of the conflict Armenian armed forces must be withdrawn from the occupied territories of Azerbaijan.
The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict emerged in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Since a lengthy war in the early 1990s that displaced over one million Azerbaijanis, Armenian armed forces have occupied over 20 percent of Azerbaijan's internationally recognized territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven adjacent regions.
Cooperation between Azerbaijan and OSCE, as well as the organizational issues related to running of OSCE Baku project coordinator office were also discussed at the meeting.
Mammadyarov discussed the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict resolution also with U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Victoria Nuland.
The sides also exchanged views on the Azerbaijan-U.S. bilateral issues, energy cooperation and regional situation.
During the meeting with deputy editor-in-chief of ZDF German public television Elmar Tevessen, Mammadyarov said Armenia should firstly withdraw its troops from the occupied Azerbaijani territories for the settlement of Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
Mammadyarov talked about the priorities of Azerbaijan's foreign policy, the socio-economic progress after the gaining of independence and the successes achieved in a short time.
The top diplomat also briefed about the successful energy policy of Azerbaijan and its roles in Europe's energy security, TANAP and TAP projects, the ceremony of signing of the final investment decision on Shah Deniz-2 on Dec.17 in Baku.
He emphasized the importance of strategic cooperation relations between Azerbaijan and EU for both of the parties.
The prospects of cooperation in the energy sphere with Bosnia and Herzegovina was discussed during the meeting of Mammadyarov and Foreign Minister Zlatko Lagumdzhija within the Munich Security Conference.
The prospects of development of bilateral relations were discussed, there was exchange of views on the possible cooperation in energy and investment spheres during the meeting.