Azerbaijan is ready for a major peace agreement on Nagorno-Karabakh, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov said at a press conference on Friday. “I agree with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov’s statement yesterday about the lack of progress in the negotiations on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict,” Mammadyarov said.
“The belligerents have been discussing its settlement for several years, but the negotiations offered no results,” he said. “Ministers meet, but there is no logical conclusion of these negotiations.”
“There are many issues that must be discussed between the belligerents including the return of internally displaced persons, the status determination and other issues,” Mammadyarov said.
“We are ready to work on a large peace agreement,” the minister said.
He also confirmed his upcoming meeting with Armenian Foreign Minister in Krakow, Poland in May.
The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Armenian armed forces have occupied 20 per cent of Azerbaijan since 1992, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.
Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group – Russia, France, and the U.S. are currently holding the peace negotiations.
Armenia has not yet implemented the U.N. Security Council’s four resolutions on the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding regions. /Trend/
