FOR A PEACEFUL SETTLEMENT OF NAGORNO-KARABAKH CONFLICT, ALL PARTIES SHOULD BE INVOLVED: PACE RAPPORTEUR

Trend News Agency, Azerbaijan
July 17 2007

Azerbaijan, Baku /corr. Trend K.Ramazanova / The Parliamentary Assembly
of the Council of Europe’s rapporteur, Leo Platveot, considered that
for a peaceful settlement of the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict, all parties should be involved. Commenting on the so-called
presidential elections in the Nagorno-Karabakh, Platveot said that
they are not recognized by any state, not even Armenia, so this
president will be a lonely figure in an international context. On the
other hand for a peaceful settlement all parties should be involved,
also the people who are now living in the Nagorno-Karabakh, as well
as the people who are refugees from the Nagorno-Karabakh who are now
living in Azerbaijan should be involved.

According to the rapporteur, an ‘elected president’ of the
Nagorno-Karabakh can play a role in this peaceful settlement but
only in this context: as a leader of the Armenian population of the
Nagorno-Karabakh and within the framework of international resolutions
(UN) which demand the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries broke out in
1988 due to Armenian territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Armenia
has occupied 20% of Azerbaijani lands including the Nagorno-Karabakh
region and its seven surrounding districts. Since 1992 to the present
time, these territories have been under Armenian occupation. In 1994,
Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a cease-fire agreement at which time
active hostilities ended. The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group (
Russia, France and USA) are holding peaceful negotiations.