Baku, Azerbaijan, Dec. 14
Trend:
Occupation of the territory of Azerbaijan will never produce a political outcome desired by Armenia, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov said, Trend reports.
He was speaking at 39th Meeting of the Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the BSEC Member States Dec. 14 in Baku, Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry said.
Azerbaijan firmly believes in the prosperous future of the Black Sea region and has no doubt that this future can only be built on the basis of the good neighbourhood, mutual respect, humanity and tolerance, the minister said.
“The biggest impediments for the regional cooperation, in particular, in the geography of BSEC are unresolved conflicts,” he said. “For Azerbaijan and Armenia it is Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. The military occupation of the territory of Azerbaijan does not represent a solution and will never produce a political outcome desired by Armenia. The principle position of Azerbaijan is running in line with the norms and principles of international law, reaffirmed in the BSEC Charter as well, particularly in respect of states’ territorial integrity, sovereignty within their internationally recognized borders.”
The still ongoing occupation and policies of self-isolation also deprive Armenia of its potential for economic growth and trade in the region, Mammadyarov added.
It also undermines our efforts to build a common regional trade in full respect to each other’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, he said.
“We hope whenever a new Government will be formed in Armenia upon the mandate of the people of this country we must make a breakthrough next year and build up a good opportunity for bringing peace, stability and prosperity to the region,” he noted.
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.
