By  Trend

Hungary supports the negotiations between Azerbaijan and the EU on a new strategic partnership agreement, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Hungary Peter Szijjarto said.

He made the remarks at a meeting with Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry reported on April 13.

Szijjarto and Mammadyarov met on the sidelines of a meeting of the foreign ministers of the Eastern Partnership and the Visegrad Group in Warsaw, Poland.

The ministers exchanged views on the prospects of development of bilateral cooperation, noted the importance of expanding and strengthening the legislation between Azerbaijan and Hungary, and mulled the International North-South Transport Corridor.

Mammadyarov informed his colleague about the negotiations for settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, and noted that the conflict must be resolved in accordance with the norms and principles of international law, and the Armenian Armed Forces must leave the occupied territories of Azerbaijan.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. 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.

The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.