Azernews.Az

By Sara Rajabova

The occupied territories must be returned to Azerbaijan and about 1 million Azerbaijani internally displaced persons must be allowed to return to their homes.

British MP Gerry Sutcliffe made the remark in an interview with The European Azerbaijan Society.

Sutcliffe, commenting on the current situation regarding the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, said the servicemen of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces were killed and Azerbaijani civilians were illegally arrested in the conflict zone in recent days.

Armenia escalated tensions on the border areas from July 31 to August 1, when reconnaissance and sabotage groups tried to cross the contact line of the Azerbaijani and Armenian troops through the territories of Aghdam and Terter regions. They also attacked the positions of Azerbaijani armed forces on the night of August 1-2.

Thirteen Azerbaijani servicemen were killed and several others injured during the clashes between two sides.

Despite what is said by Armenian sources, they suffered more losses. However, the Armenian leadership tries to keep the number of losses in secret to keep calm its public opinion.

He underscored that Armenia should assess its actions and stop violating international law.

"I visited IDP camps in Azerbaijan and familiarized myself with their conditions. Though the Azerbaijani government is making efforts to create comfortable living conditions for IDPs, the greatest desire of these people is to return to their homes. Armenia should take measures on its obligations in this regard and put an end to the violations of international law," he said.

The precarious cease-fire between Azerbaijan and Armenia was reached after a lengthy war that displaced over a million Azerbaijanis and has been in place between the two South Caucasus countries since 1994. Since the hostilities, Armenian armed forces have occupied over 20 percent of Azerbaijan's internationally recognized territory, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

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

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