BAKU INSISTS ON WITHDRAWAL OF ARMENIAN FORCES FROM OCCUPIED AZERI LANDS
Interfax
May 20 2011
Russia
The withdrawal of Armenian armed forces from the occupied Azeri lands
will resolve the problem of the withdrawal of Azeri snipers from the
contact line, Azeri Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov told journalists
on Friday.
"The Armenians are claiming that the snipers must be pulled out. This
is ridiculous. It is not that the snipers at the contact line are
to be pulled out for no particular reason. The principal issue
is the occupation of Azeri territory by Armenian armed forces,"
Mammadyarov said.
Azerbaijan insists first on the liberation of the Agdam and Fizuli
districts by signing a peace agreement, he said.
"We should win gradual liberation of our lands from Armenian forces
in line with an endorsed timeline. We should probably start with
Agdam and Fizuli. This is our position," Mammadyarov said.
An alternative proposal envisions the simultaneous liberation of five
Azeri districts, Mammadyarov said. "There are a lot of proposals and
agreed-upon points," he added.
The conflict between Baku and Yerevan erupted at the end of the 1980s
after Armenia made claims on Azeri territory. In an ensuing war, which
lasted until May 1994, Armenia occupied not only Nagorno-Karabakh
itself, but also seven Azeri districts around it.
The conflict turned some one million Azeris into refugees and
forced migrants. During the armed clashes in Nagorno-Karabakh
and the surrounding districts, the UN Security Council passed four
resolutions demanding that Armenia unconditionally free the occupied
Azeri territories.
Azerbaijan and Armenia are currently holding negotiations on settling
the conflict with mediation from the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs
(Russia, France, and the United States).
Nagorno-Karabakh's status still remains a stumbling block in the
talks. In their efforts, the mediators are trying to reconcile two key
principles of international law, i.e. the principle of territorial
integrity, on which Baku insists, and the right of nations to
self-determination, which Yerevan is referring to.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
Interfax
May 20 2011
Russia
The withdrawal of Armenian armed forces from the occupied Azeri lands
will resolve the problem of the withdrawal of Azeri snipers from the
contact line, Azeri Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov told journalists
on Friday.
"The Armenians are claiming that the snipers must be pulled out. This
is ridiculous. It is not that the snipers at the contact line are
to be pulled out for no particular reason. The principal issue
is the occupation of Azeri territory by Armenian armed forces,"
Mammadyarov said.
Azerbaijan insists first on the liberation of the Agdam and Fizuli
districts by signing a peace agreement, he said.
"We should win gradual liberation of our lands from Armenian forces
in line with an endorsed timeline. We should probably start with
Agdam and Fizuli. This is our position," Mammadyarov said.
An alternative proposal envisions the simultaneous liberation of five
Azeri districts, Mammadyarov said. "There are a lot of proposals and
agreed-upon points," he added.
The conflict between Baku and Yerevan erupted at the end of the 1980s
after Armenia made claims on Azeri territory. In an ensuing war, which
lasted until May 1994, Armenia occupied not only Nagorno-Karabakh
itself, but also seven Azeri districts around it.
The conflict turned some one million Azeris into refugees and
forced migrants. During the armed clashes in Nagorno-Karabakh
and the surrounding districts, the UN Security Council passed four
resolutions demanding that Armenia unconditionally free the occupied
Azeri territories.
Azerbaijan and Armenia are currently holding negotiations on settling
the conflict with mediation from the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs
(Russia, France, and the United States).
Nagorno-Karabakh's status still remains a stumbling block in the
talks. In their efforts, the mediators are trying to reconcile two key
principles of international law, i.e. the principle of territorial
integrity, on which Baku insists, and the right of nations to
self-determination, which Yerevan is referring to.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress