By Rashid Shirinov

The OSCE Parliamentary Assembly will do everything possible for peaceful settlement of the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Kristian Vigenin, OSCE PA special representative for South Caucasus, said on September 25.

He made the remarks at a meeting with Azerbaijani IDPs in the Masazir settlement of Absheron district.

Vigenin got acquainted with the living conditions of the IDPs and talked with them. The IDPs expressed concern that their Motherland have been under the Armenian occupation for more than 25 years.

Kristian Vigenin is visiting Azerbaijan, Georgia and Armenia on September 24-30. During his visit to Azerbaijan, the special representative will hold meetings at the Foreign Ministry, the Parliament and other structures of the country.

Influence of the long-lasting conflicts on people’s lives in South Caucasus will be discussed during Vigenin’s visits.

Azerbaijan and Armenia fought a lengthy war that ended with signing of a fragile ceasefire in 1994. Since the war, Armenian armed forces have occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan's territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding regions. More than 20,000 Azerbaijanis were killed and over 1 million were displaced as a result of the large-scale hostilities.

Today the Armenian occupants continue to illegally remain in Azerbaijan’s internationally recognized territories. More than a million of Azerbaijanis who lost their homes and families due to Armenian aggression, are waiting for the day to return to their native lands.

With a population of over 9.8 million, Azerbaijan is among the countries carrying the highest IDP caseload in the world in per capita terms.