Azerbaijan welcomes UN chief’s call for revitalizing mediation initiatives for Karabakh conflict

Azerbaijan welcomes UN chief’s call for revitalizing mediation initiatives for Karabakh conflict
# 17 January 2018 14:16 (UTC +04:00)

Azerbaijan welcomes and supports UN Secretary General António Guterres's call for revitalizing OSCE Minsk Group’s mediation initiatives for the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Hikmat Hajiyev, spokesman for the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry, told APA.

UN Secretary General António Guterres in his speech at an informal meeting of the General Assembly on January 16 underscored the need to revitalize OSCE Minsk Group’s mediation initiatives for the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

Hajiyev said the UN Secretary General very accurately noted that the existence of unresolved conflicts against the background of resources, opportunities and institutions available in Europe can not be justified. “Although the issue of security is perceived in Europe as a single principle, unfortunately, reality is far from that,” he said.

The foreign ministry spokesman recalled that the aggressive Armenian separatism that swept the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan in the late 1980s, led to Armenia’s military aggression against Azerbaijan, the occupation of 20 percent of Azerbaijani territories and the bloody ethnic cleansing of more than a million Azerbaijanis.

He stressed that Armenia – which is an OSCE member – in contravention of the UN Charter and the Helsinki Final Act, continues the occupation of territories of another OSCE member, Azerbaijan, and this fact remains a serious threat to peace and security in the region.

“Armenia still ignores UN Security Council resolutions demanding a complete and unconditional withdrawal of Armenian troops from the occupied Azerbaijani territories. Such occupation policy of Armenia and attempts to seize territories by the use of force can be compared to the unpleasant experience which arose in Europe in the 1930-40s,” added Hajiyev.

Hajiyev noted that Azerbaijan will continue to take joint efforts with the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs and international community in order to settle the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict in accordance with the UN Security Council resolutions and Helsinki Final Act and to ensure lasting peace and security in the region.

Nagorno Garabagh

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