Azernews.Az

By Sara Rajabova

Azerbaijani official has blamed several international organizations for demonstrating double standards towards the resolution of the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and not staging a determined position on the resolution of the problem.

Bayram Safarov, the chairman of the Azerbaijani Community of Nagorno-Karabakh made the remarks at a meeting with Ivica Dacic, the OSCE Chairperson in Office, Serbia’s deputy premier and foreign minister on June 1.

Safarov said this conflict can only be solved within the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan.

“The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict should be resolved based on the principles of international law and with a condition of ensuring Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity. We expect a strong position from the OSCE Minsk Group, as well as the other international agencies in this regard,” Safarov said.

Safarov said Azerbaijan stands for a peaceful settlement of the conflict, noting that Armenia, holding a non-constructive position, has ignored international law and statements from leaders of the co-chair countries.

Safarov stressed that if the problem is not settled within the framework of international law, the situation would become more complicated in the region. "Azerbaijan supports peace and we want peace in our own country, in the South Caucasus region, as well as in the world.”

The Azerbaijani official further added that Azerbaijan is ready to grant the highest status to Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenians living in Nagorno-Karabakh within the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan. “We are ready to live together with those Armenians as citizens of Azerbaijan.”

Dacic, in turn, said the resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is very important to the OSCE.

He said he is in favor of a peaceful solution to the conflict in the near future to ensure stability in the South Caucasus region, noting on the importance of negotiations’ continuation in this direction.

Armenia occupied over 20 percent of Azerbaijan's internationally recognized territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven adjacent regions, after laying territorial claims against its South Caucasus neighbor that caused a brutal war in the early 1990s. Long-standing efforts by U.S, Russian and French mediators have been largely fruitless so far.

As a result of the military aggression of Armenia, over 20,000 Azerbaijanis were killed, 4,866 were reported missing and almost 100,000 were injured, additionally 50,000 were disabled.

The UN Security Council has passed four resolutions on Armenia's withdrawal from all Azerbaijani territories, but they have not been enforced to this day.

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Sara Rajabova is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @SaraRajabova

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