All Muslim countries should keep in focus Nagorno-Karabakh conflict

By Sara Rajabova

Turkish official has called on the Muslim countries to pay more attention to the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

Cemil Cicek, Speaker of Turkish Parliament said all Muslim countries should focus on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict emerged in 1988 over Armenia’s territorial claims against Azerbaijan, Turkish media reported.

Cicek said Turkey has supported and will always support Azerbaijan.

Noting that the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is one of the problems in the South Caucasus that should be resolved, Cicek blamed the international community for indifference in this issue.

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. 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.

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Sara Rajabova is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @SaraRajabova

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