AZERBAIJAN MINISTERS CONSIDERS CONDUCT OF AZERBAIJANI WEEK IN ARMENIA TOO PREMATURE

Trend News Agency, Azerbaijan
Dec 19 2007

Azerbaijan, Baku / corr Trend S.Ilhamgizi / The commencement of the
Azerbaijani week in Armenia is a hasty and premature step, Abulfas
Garayev, the Azerbaijani Minister for Culture and Tourism, stated.

The Armenia has kept under it’s the control, the Azerbaijani territory,
and the bilateral relations with the occupant country in the culture
sector is not possible. "However, it does not mean that we do not
hold the exchange of the opinions with the Armenian Minister, in the
meetings with the Armenian culture minister during the international
events. We talk and it is obvious, because we are the members of an
international family," Garayev said.

The minister said that the key objective of Armenians in holding the
Azerbaijani Week is to demonstrate the imaginary peaceable ness. The
commencement of such events in Armenia and the participation of
Azerbaijanis there, is not right, Garayev said.

The conflict between the two countries of the South Caucasus began in
1988 due to the Armenian territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Since
1992, the Armenian Armed Forces have occupied 20% of Azerbaijan
including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and its seven neighboring
districts. In 1994, Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire
agreement which ended the active hostilities. The Co-Chairs of the
OSCE Minsk Group ( Russia, France, and the US) are currently holding
the peaceful negotiations.