Azernews.Az

By Sara Rajabova

Azerbaijanis living in the United States urged the OSCE Minsk Group to strengthen its efforts for the resolution of the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

Representatives of the Azerbaijani community of the U.S. state of California demanded that the Minsk Group co-chairs intensify efforts to settle the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, achieve the withdrawal of Armenian forces from occupied Azerbaijani territories and return of IDPs to their homes, the Consulate General of Azerbaijan in Los Angeles reported on July 9.

The representatives of the Azerbaijani community made such a demand at a meeting with the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs from the United States and France James Warlick and Pierre Andrieu and Special Representative of the OSCE Chairman Andrzej Kasprzyk.

The co-chairs informed the representatives of the Azerbaijani community of the state of the negotiation process on the peaceful settlement of the conflict.

The community representatives said regardless of location of residence, not a single Azerbaijani will accept the occupation of the Azerbaijani territories - Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding areas.

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. A lengthy war in the early 1990s resulted with displacement of over one million Azerbaijanis.

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.

The community representatives also expressed hope that the OSCE Minsk Group will take into account the recent decision of the European Court of Human Rights that confirmed the fact of occupation of Azerbaijani territories by Armenia.

The Grand Chamber of the ECHR announced its judgment (Merits) on the case of Chiragov and others v. Armenia on June 16.

The ECHR reaffirmed Armenia’s responsibility in the occupation of Azerbaijani territories. The court ruled in favor of the applicants, recognizing Armenia’s continuing violations of a number of their rights under the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms.

Peace talks on settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, 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. However, the negotiations have been largely fruitless so far despite the efforts of the co-chair countries over 20 years.

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

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