Nagorno Garabagh

Nagorno Garabagh

Armenian-born researcher: Positive solution to Karabakh conflict is near

14 March 2017 07:45 (UTC +04:00)

A positive solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is near, said Ukrainian researcher of Armenian origin Artur Aghajanov.

He made the remarks addressing an international conference, entitled “The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, origins, peacemaking and the role of civil society”, held in Baku March 14, APA reported.

Aghajanov stressed that what is the most important is to believe in the possibility of resolving the conflict.

"I’m Armenian. I was born in Baku but originally I’m from Karabakh, which is populated by different people now. There are some among the Armenians I know who share the same views about the conflict. But they are afraid to express it clearly. However, they have a positive approach to the conflict,” said the researcher, adding. “We’re only divided by religion, which does not matter much. This is my opinion. Perhaps there are Turks currently living in Armenia. For example, my last name is Aghajanova. What it means is, we have common roots. For one thing, we share last names like Allahverdiyev and Mirzabeyov.”

The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict entered its modern phase when the Armenian SRR made territorial claims against the Azerbaijani SSR in 1988.

A fierce war broke out between Azerbaijan and Armenia over the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan. As a result of the war, Armenian armed forces occupied some 20 percent of Azerbaijani territory which includes Nagorno-Karabakh and seven adjacent districts (Lachin, Kalbajar, Aghdam, Fuzuli, Jabrayil, Gubadli and Zangilan), and over a million Azerbaijanis became refugees and internally displaced people.

The military operations finally came to an end when Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement in Bishkek in 1994.

Dealing with the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is the OSCE Minsk Group, which was created after the meeting of the CSCE (OSCE after the Budapest summit held in Dec.1994) Ministerial Council in Helsinki on 24 March 1992. The Group’s members include Azerbaijan, Armenia, Russia, the United States, France, Italy, Germany, Turkey, Belarus, Finland and Sweden.

Besides, the OSCE Minsk Group has a co-chairmanship institution, comprised of Russian, the US and French co-chairs, which began operating in 1996.

Resolutions 822, 853, 874 and 884 of the UN Security Council, which were passed in short intervals in 1993, and other resolutions adopted by the UN General Assembly, PACE, OSCE, OIC, and other organizations require Armenia to unconditionally withdraw its troops from Nagorno-Karabakh.