OIC strongly condemns Armenia's aggression against Azerbaijan

By Rashid Shirinov // Azernews 

The position of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) on the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is consistent and clear – it strongly condemns the aggression of Armenia against Azerbaijan, the organization told Azernews on June 1.

The OIC noted that it advocates for peaceful and negotiated settlement of all conflicts, and the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict is not an exception.

“We strongly demand strict implementation of the UN Security Council resolutions and the immediate, unconditional and complete withdrawal of the Armenian armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh region and other occupied Azerbaijani territories,” the message says.

The organization mentioned that it will continue efforts for the peaceful resolution of the conflict, and at the same time, it expects the Armenian authorities to be consistent and join the negotiations with openness. The OIC added that it will also liaise with other regional and international organizations to join force together to resolve this conflict.

The OIC further noted that the statement by the Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, saying that to resolve the conflict, the so-called “Nagorno-Karabakh Republic” must be at the negotiating table, deserves no comment.

“International relations are maintained on the basis of international laws and practices. The international documents recognize Nagorno-Karabakh as an Azerbaijani territory,” the organization mentioned.

Touching upon the contribution the OIC may make in the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, the organization said it has created several means for settling conflicts emphasizing on mediation and track II diplomacy to resolve a conflict.

“The OIC Peace, Security and Conflict Resolution Unit (PSCU) is now fully functional and is engaged with various conflict resolution activities in OIC Member States. Besides this, an OIC Contact Group on Peace and Conflict Resolution (PCR) has also been established,” the message reads.

Azerbaijan and Armenia fought a lengthy war that ended with signing of a fragile ceasefire in 1994. Since the war, Armenian armed forces have occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan's territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding regions. More than 20,000 Azerbaijanis were killed and over 1 million were displaced as a result of the large-scale hostilities.

While the OSCE Minsk Group acted as the only mediator in resolution of the conflict, the occupation of the territory of the sovereign state with its internationally recognized boundaries has been left out of due attention of the international community for years.

Until now, Armenia ignores four UN Security Council resolutions on immediate withdrawal from the occupied territory of Azerbaijan, thus keeping tension high in the region.