Azernews.Az

By Jamila Babayeva

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu called on Russia to assist in the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

"The frozen conflicts pose threat for the countries in the region. We hope that Russia will assist in the settlement of Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, and at the same time will spare no effort to resolve other frozen conflicts in the region," Davutoglu said at a joint briefing with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov in Moscow.

He went on to add that Turkey supports the resolution of frozen conflicts in the region.

"The events in Ukraine show the importance of a speedy settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict," Davutoglu said. "A favorable situation is created for the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. We must take concrete steps to resolve this conflict."

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.

The UN Security Council's four resolutions on Armenian withdrawal have not been enforced to this day.

Peace talks, mediated by Russia, France and the U.S. through the OSCE Minsk Group, are underway on the basis of a peace outline proposed by the Minsk Group co-chairs and dubbed the Madrid Principles. The negotiations have been largely fruitless so far.