Direct high-level contacts needed to resolve Nagorno-Karabakh conflcit
By Sara Rajabova
Latvian foreign policy head believes that the long-lasting Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict must be resolved peacefully.
“Latvia is convinced that this long drawn out conflict must only be resolved by peaceful means and in accordance with international law,” Edgars Rinkevics said in an interview with Trend Agency.
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.
“Looking from the perspective of Latvia’s EU Presidency, I can say that Latvia fully supports the OSCE Minsk Group in its activities,” Rinkevics said.
He noted that it is crucial to maintain direct high-level contacts between Armenia and Azerbaijan in a conflict settlement process.
Large-scale hostilities ended with a Russia-brokered ceasefire in 1994 but Armenia continued the occupation in defiance of four UN Security Council resolutions calling for immediate and unconditional withdrawal.
Peace talks mediated by Russia, France and the U.S. have produced no results so far.
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Sara Rajabova is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on
Twitter: @SaraRajabova
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