Elmar Mamedyarov: "Armenian armed forces should be withdrawn from the occupied lands of Azerbaijan"

Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry’s Press Service told APA that Foreign Minister Elmar Mamedyarov had addressed the session.

He said that in the contemporary world intercultural and interreligious dialogue had become one of the most topical issues and drawn the interest and attention of the international community.

The minister mentioned that on December, 2008 Baku will host the Informal Conference of the European Ministers of Culture with representatives from the Council of Europe, ISESCO, and ALECSO, which will focus on intercultural dialogue of civilizations.

Elmar Mamedyarov said at the Warsaw Summit of the Council of Europe, the Heads of State and Government expressed their concern over the unresolved conflicts that still affect certain parts of the European continent.

The minister noted that the conflicts continued to endanger human security, sustainable development and normal relations between the countries of the affected regions and it was crucially important to commit ourselves on achieving lasting solutions to these disputes.

"The position of Azerbaijan with regard to the solution of the conflict with Armenia is simple: withdrawal of Armenian armed forces from all occupied territories, reintegration of the Nagorno-Karabakh region into the political, economic, legal and social systems of the Republic of Azerbaijan, rehabilitation of the conflict-affected territories, return of the displaced population to their places of origin, re-establishment of favorable environment for peaceful co-existence of both Armenian and Azerbaijani communities living in peace and harmony, side-by-side within the Nagorno-Karabakh region of the Republic of Azerbaijan", the minister said.

Elmar Mamedyarov said that all these could create necessary conditions for the definition of the status of self-rule of the Nagorno-Karabakh region within the Republic of Azerbaijan.

/APA/