Turan news agency, Baku, in Russian
18 Nov 04

Azeri foreign minister urges foreign envoys to respect international
law

Baku, 18 November: Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov has
received the ambassadors of countries of the European Union and the
Organization of the Islamic Conference, as well as the US and Chinese
ambassadors.

The minister spoke highly of the efforts of the countries which
supported on 29 October Azerbaijan’s initiative to include the issue
of the “situation on the occupied Azerbaijani territories” in the
agenda of the 59th session of the UN General Assembly.

Mammadyarov drew the attention of the foreign diplomats to Armenia’s
settling the occupied Azerbaijani territories, which runs counter to
the norms of international humanitarian law and provision 949 of the
Geneva Convention. In this connection, the Azerbaijani foreign
minister stressed the importance of the international community’s
principled position to prevent this illegal activity.

The minister added that the purpose in raising this issue with the UN
was not to replace the OSCE Minsk Group, but to attract the attention
of international organizations to the problem.

In conclusion, the minister expressed the hope that the countries the
diplomats represented at the meeting would support Azerbaijan and
that the world community would respect the norms of international
humanitarian law.