BAKU, September 19. /TASS/. Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev has given a negative assessment to the current state of the talks aimed at resolving the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and claims that that they have been nearly mothballed.

"I assess negatively the current state of negotiation. I believe that the people of Azerbaijan completely agree with me. In fact, the talks are not ongoing," Aliyev said in a televised interview with national channels.

From his point of view, Armenia "has actually disrupted the negotiation process."

"Therefore, their absurd statements and provocative steps make talks senseless," Aliyev added.

The conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the highland region of Nagorno-Karabakh, a disputed territory that had been part of Azerbaijan before the Soviet Union break-up, but primarily populated by ethnic Armenians, broke out in February 1988 after the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region announced its withdrawal from the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic. In 1992-1994, tensions boiled over and exploded into large-scale military action for control over the enclave and seven adjacent territories after Azerbaijan lost control of them. Talks on the Nagorno-Karabakh settlement have been ongoing since 1992 under the OSCE Minsk Group, led by its three co-chairs – Russia, France and the United States.