DATE OF OSCE CHAIRMAN-IN-OFFICE’S VISIT TO AZERBAIJAN

Trend News Agency, Azerbaijan
May 7 2007

Azerbaijan, Baku / corr. Trend E.Huseynov, A.Gasimova / The OSCE
Chairman-in-Office, Spanish Foreign Minister, Miguel Angel Moratinos,
will visit Azerbaijan and Armenia on 4-5 June, a source at the Foreign
Ministry of Spain informed Trend.

Moratinos will arrive in Baku on the evening of 4 June and will hold
negotiations with top-ranking officials of Azerbaijan. The program
of the visit has not yet been devised, but it is expected that the
meetings will be held with the Azerbaijan’s President, Ilham Aliyev
and Foreign Minister, Elmar Mammadyarov.

On the morning of 5 June, Moratinos will depart for Yerevan and return
to Madrid on the same day. The process of peaceful regulations of the
Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is expected to be the
focus of attention during Moratinos’ meetings in Baku and Yerevan.

The conflict between the two countries of South Caucasus appeared in
1988 due to the territorial claims of Armenia against Azerbaijan.

Armenia has occupied 20% of the Azerbaijani land including
Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding Districts. Since 1992
to the present time, these territories have been under the occupation
of the Armenian Forces. In 1994, Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a
cease-fire agreement at which time the active hostilities ended. The
Co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group ( Russia, France and USA) is holding
peaceful negotiations.