By  Trend

Yerevan’s reaction to the interview of Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov to CBC TV channel is extremely strange, Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Leyla Abdullayeva told Trend on Dec. 13.

Abdullayeva was commenting on the words of the spokesperson of the Armenian Foreign Ministry, who said that during the negotiations on the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict’s settlement “no document is being discussed at this stage” regarding Mammadyarov’s interview to CBC TV channel.

“It turns out that the Armenian counterpart of Elmar Mammadyarov has been coming to meetings with the Azerbaijani foreign minister and [OSCE Minsk Group] co-chairs for a year and a half to drink tea,” Abdullayeva said.

“This is at least not serious,” Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson added. “It’s clear that the Armenian foreign minister is very afraid of the negative domestic political reaction, as he may be demanded explanations regarding what Minister Elmar Mammadyarov said in this interview. In fact, the interview should be considered in the context of the call of the [OSCE Minsk Group] co-chairs on 'preparing the populations for peace'.”

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, 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 Nagorno Karabakh and the surrounding districts.