AZERBAIJANI MPS LIKELY TO MEET WITH ARMENIAN COUNTERPARTS: VICE-SPEAKER

Trend
Dec 21 2009
Azerbaijan

Azerbaijani Parliamentary Deputy Speaker Bahar Muradova does not
exclude the possibility of meeting between of the Azerbaijani and
Armenian parliamentarians in the near future.

"Usually we meet with the Armenian MPs at the OSCE Parliamentary
Assembly, Council of Europe and in the conferences of other
international organizations," Muradova told journalists today.

"Perhaps, we will meet with the Armenian MPs at a future session and
we will get an opportunity to exchange views on the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict.’

The last meeting of the Azerbaijani and Armenian MPs was held in
Moscow in late October.

"Meetings with them are not objective for us, and we do not assign
them," Muradova said. "These meetings usually occur on the activities
of international organizations, or they have a place in one or another
form through these organizations."

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988
when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Armenian
armed forces have occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan since 1992,
including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and 7 surrounding districts.

Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994.

The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group – Russia, France, and the U.S. –
are currently holding the peace negotiations.