Trend, Azerbaijan
Jan 14 2010

International community is aware of inadmissibility of status quo in
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict: Azerbaijani FM

Azerbaijan, Baku, Jan. 14 / Trend News M.Aliyev /

The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry characterized 2009 as a year of
intensive negotiations to settle the Armenian-Azerbaijani
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

The fact that the presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan held six
meetings with the participation of the OSCE Minsk Group a year, as
well as several meetings of foreign ministers of both countries
testify to this, the ministry’s report on the results of 2009 says.

The Foreign Ministry noted that the international community’s immense
interest toward settling this conflict in 2009. Thus, the G-8 Summit
in the Italian L’Aquila city adopted a joint statement by the
presidents of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs over the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict and the foreign ministers of Russia and France and the U.S
Assistant Secretary of State adopted a joint statement on the
Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict settlement Dec.1 as a
result of the Athens meeting of the OSCE Council of Foreign Ministers.
All these are evident to immense attention to solving the conflict,
the report says.

Azerbaijan’s position on its resolution is clear. The conflict must be
resolved only within the framework of the sovereignty, territorial
integrity and internationally recognized borders of Azerbaijan. This
position is based on the norms and principles of international law and
U.N. charters, the Helsinki Final Act and numerous international
papers adopted within the framework of the conflict settlement, the
report says.

Negotiations on settlement of the conflict are directed at the
harmonization of details coming from these principles, the ministry
notes.

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.

Armenia has not yet implemented the U.N. General Assembly’s
resolutions on the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh region and the
occupied territories.