Baku says Yerevan aims to keep status quo in Karabakh conflict

By Azernews

By Rashid Shirinov

The OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs, who will arrive in Baku on June 19 as part of their visit to the South Caucasus region, have repeatedly expressed readiness to continue substantive talks on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict’s settlement, said Hikmat Hajiyev, the spokesman for the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry.

Hajiyev went on to add that absurd statements made by Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian at a joint press conference with OSCE Secretary General Lamberto Zannier in Yerevan once again show that Armenia’s policy is to preserve the status quo based on the occupation of the Azerbaijani lands.

“Attempts by the Armenian foreign minister to present the occupation of Azerbaijani territories under the guise of the right of peoples to self-determination can only be compared to Nazi Germany’s occupation of Sudetenland, which belonged to former Czechoslovakia, in 1938,” Hajiyev said, stressing that he international community unequivocally and resolutely supports the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Azerbaijan within its internationally recognized borders.

“Thus, the international community once again makes it clear for Armenia that the status quo achieved as a result of the occupation, as well as attempts to change internationally recognized borders of states through the use of force are inacceptable,” he added.

The earlier Armenia understands this reality and withdraws its troops from the occupied Azerbaijani territories in accordance with the plans presented at the negotiating table, the earlier sustainable peace and security in the region will be restored, Hajiyev said.

Armenia broke out a lengthy war against Azerbaijan laying territorial claims on its South Caucasus neighbor. 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. More than 20,000 Azerbaijanis were killed and over 1 million were displaced as a result of the large-scale hostilities. The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations.

Armenia still controls fifth part of Azerbaijan's territory and rejects implementing four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding districts.

Russia along with the U.S. and France is a co-chair country of the OSCE Minsk Group established to broker a peace to the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.