Azernews.Az

Spanish Foreign Ministry replied to the protest note of Azerbaijan in connection with the visit of opera singer Montserrat Caballe to the occupied territories of Azerbaijan.

"The response of the Foreign Ministry of Spain received by the Azerbaijani Embassy in Madrid on Tuesday says that such visits paid on a private initiative does not change the official position of Spain on this issue," the embassy told Trend news agency.

The letter notes that Spain, among other principles of international law, recognizes the principle of territorial integrity, and supports the efforts of the international community for a peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

On June 5, Azerbaijan sent Spain a note of protest in connection with the illegal trip of the Spanish opera singer Montserrat Caballe to Nagorno-Karabakh.

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 has adopted four resolutions on Armenia's withdrawal from the Azerbaijani territory, but Armenia has not followed them to this day.

Russia, France and the U.S. have long been working to broker a solution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict through the OSCE Minsk Group, but their efforts have been largely fruitless so far.

Peace talks are underway on the basis of a peace outline proposed by the Minsk Group co-chairs and dubbed the Madrid Principles. The document envisions a return of the territories surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh to Azerbaijani control; determining the final legal status of Nagorno-Karabakh; a corridor linking Armenia to the region; and the right of all internally displaced persons to return home.