Interfax - Russia & CIS Diplomatic Panorama Wednesday 6:28 PM MSK Baku criticizes Cypriot foreign minister for attributing Karabakh to Armenia, says Cypriot Turks have right to self-determination BAKU. May 31 Cypriot Foreign Minister Ioannis Kasoulides's remark to the effect that Nagorno-Karabakh belongs to Armenia encourages Armenia's 'policy of occupation' and is at odds with Nicosia's international obligations, Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry spokesman Hikmet Hajiyev said. "The remark by Kasoulides goes directly against the obligations which Cyprus has undertaken under international law, the Helsinki Final Act and other documents and is an illustrative example of propaganda of the Armenian aggression against Azerbaijan and Yerevan's policy of occupation," Hajiyev said in a statement on Wednesday. "Remarks of the sort harm efforts of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs fostering a peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and lasting peace in the region," he said. A number of media outlets earlier quoted Kasoulides as saying at a meeting with Armenian Defense Minister Vigen Sargsyan, "It would be wrong to compare Northern Cyprus to Nagorno-Karabakh because, in contrast to Northern Cyprus, which is occupied by Turkey, Artsakh [the Armenian name for Nagorno-Karabakh] is historically an Armenian territory." Hajiyev said this remark by Kasoulides is at odds with the opinion on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict maintained by the European Union, the OSCE and the Council of Europe, whose member Cyprus is. "What is more, the Cypriot foreign minister negates his own words by making this controversial statement. I'd like to recall that, while speaking at the January 26 meeting of the OSCE Permanent Council in the capacity of the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers chairman, Kasoulides said that Cyprus firmly supported the principles of territorial integrity, sovereignty, and political independence of states," Hajiyev said. "I should also say that Northern Cyprus is a territory for centuries inhabited by Turks, who also have the right to self-termination," Hajiyev said. "There are also some questions and suspicions about military cooperation between Cyprus and Armenia. Hopefully, the European Union and the OSCE will look into this matter from the angle of military aspects of the conflict," he said.