Baku expresses readiness to work on comprehensive peace agreement
By Mushvig Mehdiyev
Acting Spokesman for Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry Hikmat Hajiyev said the presidents and other officials of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chair countries have always stressed that the status-quo in the Nagorno-Karabakh can’t remain unchanged any further.
"The status-quo is the result of Armenia's occupation of the Azerbaijani lands. It should be changed by the withdrawal of the Armenian troops from the occupied territories," he said.
The foreign ministers of the OSCE MG co-chair countries - the U.S., Russia and France - called on Armenia and Azerbaijan to stay committed to the peaceful resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, excluding any military solution. In their recent statement, they stressed that the two sides could evade from the helicopter crash incident, happened on November 12, to highlight the importance of the measures taken by the parties, as well as restoration of the confidence in future.
Hajiyev said the chopper could be saved if the Armenian side had not carried out large-scale military drills amid the positive progresses observed in the negotiations following the Sochi, Wales and Paris meetings of the presidents.
"If the Armenian combat chopper had not made provocative flights over the frontline, the helicopter incident would not happen," Hajiyev noted.
In the joint statement, the U.S., Russian and French foreign ministers urged Armenia and Azerbaijan to start talks over a comprehensive peace agreement, welcoming the Paris agreement between the presidents to resume the dialogue next year.
Hajiyev said following the Paris meeting, Azerbaijan announced its readiness to work on the comprehensive peace agreement supported by the OCSE Minsk Group co-chairs.
"Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov once again expressed Baku’s readiness to start working on the agreement at the OSCE Ministerial Council in Basel on December 4 - 5. The minister said it was important for Armenia to thoroughly review the significant initiative on the agreement," he noted.
Hajiyev emphasized that Azerbaijan has a clear stance on this issue and now it is Armenia's turn to adequately reply to the calls on comprehensive peace agreement.
Armenia occupied over 20 percent of Azerbaijan's internationally recognized territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven adjacent regions, after laying territorial claims against its South Caucasus neighbor that caused a brutal war in the early 1990s. Long-standing efforts by U.S., Russian and French mediators have been largely fruitless so far.
As a result of the military aggression of Armenia, over 20,000 Azerbaijanis were killed, 4,866 are reported missing and almost 100,000 were injured, and 50,000 were disabled.
The UN Security Council has passed four resolutions on Armenian withdrawal from the Azerbaijani territory, but they have not been enforced yet.