Azernews.Az

By Sara Rajabova

Deputy Head of the Administration of the Azerbaijani President voiced concern over a delay in the talks on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

Novruz Mammadov, who is also head of foreign relation department of the presidential administration, said the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict remains unresolved. He emphasized that the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs are unable to find a fair solution to the conflict.

Addressing the First Congress of Azerbaijanis working in international organizations, Mammadov said Azerbaijan is a supporter of peace, stability and cooperation and has created mutually beneficial relations with all neighboring countries except Armenia, which continues its policy of occupation.

About 50 Azerbaijani citizens working in organizations including the UN, the Cooperation Council of Turkic Speaking countries, International Organization for Migration and offices of other entities in different countries are taking part in the congress, which started in Baku on March 17.

The purpose of the event is to create a single center, which will unite Azerbaijani citizens together who have experiences at international level, to ensure their active participation in the process of the country's development.

Mammadov stressed that the successes achieved by Azerbaijan, strengthened the country's influence in the international arena.

He noted that the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is the main obstacle to the region's development.

Mammadov said the legal basis for the conflict's settlement is reflected in the UN Charter, the Helsinki Final Act, the four resolutions of the UN Security Council, the resolution adopted by the UN General Assembly in 2008, as well as in the decisions and resolutions of the OSCE, NATO, the Council of Europe and other international organizations.

He noted that all these documents support Azerbaijan's territorial integrity.

The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict emerged in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Since a lengthy war in the early 1990s that displaced over one million Azerbaijanis, Armenian armed forces have occupied over 20 percent of Azerbaijan's internationally recognized territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven adjacent regions.

The UN Security Council's four resolutions on Armenian withdrawal have not been enforced to this day.

Peace talks, mediated by Russia, France and the U.S. through the OSCE Minsk Group, are underway on the basis of a peace outline proposed by the Minsk Group co-chairs and dubbed the Madrid Principles. The negotiations have been largely fruitless so far.