Baku, Azerbaijan, Jan. 23

By Nigar Guliyeva – Trend:

Denmark's Foreign Minister Anders Samuelsen encouraged Azerbaijan and Armenia to follow their commitments before the Council of Europe on peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

Denmark, as the chair country of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, supports the activity of the OSCE Minsk Group on the conflict resolution, said Samuelsen at the winter session of PACE on Jan.23, when answering the questions of Azerbaijani MPs Rafael Huseynov and Ganira Pashayeva.

"Mediation for the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is the responsibility of the OSCE Minsk Group. This was repeatedly underlined by the Committee of Ministers," he said. "It is central that Armenia and Azerbaijan abide by their commitments to the Council of Europe to settle the conflict by peaceful means. The Council of Europe can help establish conditions conductive to a peace agreement by encouraging confidence building measures."

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

The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.