FM, EU Rep. discuss Azerbaijan-EU relations
By Nigar Orujova
Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov met EU Special Representative for the South Caucasus Herbert Salber on October 21.
The sides discussed Azerbaijan-EU relations, cooperation under Eastern Partnership initiative, and the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
Earlier, President Ilham Aliyev received a delegation led by Salber. The sides exchanged views on the process of negotiations over the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
During his Baku visit, Salber is also expected to meet with Deputy Prime Minister, Chairman of the State Committee for Refugees and IDPs Ali Hasanov, as well as with IDPs settled in the suburbs of Baku.
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 were 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 of armed forces.
Peace talks brokered by mediators from Russia, France and the U.S. have produced no results so far.