Nagorno-Karabakh conflict discussed in London
By Sara Rajabova
Settlement of the long-lasting Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict has been discussed in London.
UK Minister for Europe David Lidington and co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group from France, Pierre Andre met on November 17, the British embassy in Baku reported.
The sides discussed the process of settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and the current situation on the contact line of Azerbaijani and Armenian troops.
In early November, Lidington visited Armenia and Azerbaijan.
During his visit to Azerbaijan, the British minister met with President Ilham Aliyev, Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov, Deputy Prime Minister, Chairman of the State Committee for Refugees and IDPs Ali Hasanov, chairman of the Azerbaijani community of Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan Public Association Bayram Safarov, and was informed about the realities of the conflict.
During the Baku meetings, Lidington said the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict lasts for more than 20 years and is a human tragedy, noting that the solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is a priority for international organizations.
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.