Necessary to start work on peace agreement for Karabakh conflict’s settlement

Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb.16 By Seba Aghayeva – Trend: It is necessary to start the work on the great peace agreement on the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov said on Feb.16. The minister made the remarks during a joint press conference with his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif in Baku. Zarif is on a two-day visit to Azerbaijan. The OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs also embarked on a visit to the country on Feb.16. Mammadyarov said OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs have already understood that it is time to start working on the great peace agreement, adding that the heads of the co-chairing countries also support this. “There shouldn’t be Armenian soldiers in Lachin, Kalbajar,” said the Azerbaijani minister. “It is necessary to start serious negotiations on restoring peace in the region.” Mammadyarov said that the main problem is related to the withdrawal of Armenian armed forces from Azerbaijan’s occupied territories and the co-chairs should urge Armenia to do that. “Armenia should withdraw its troops from Azerbaijani territories,” he said. Zarif for his part said that Iran, as a neighboring country, is ready to assist in resolving the conflict which is a great threat to peace and stability in the whole region. Furthermore, Mammadyarov said that the two Azerbaijanis taken hostage by Armenians in Kalbajar should be handed over to Azerbaijan. “Azerbaijan has raised this issue in all international organizations.” During an operation in the Shaplar village of Azerbaijan’s occupied Kalbajar district on July 11, 2014 Armenian forces killed an Azerbaijani, Hasan Hasanov, and detained two other Azerbaijanis, Shahbaz Guliyev and Dilgam Asgarov. A criminal case was filed against them. Earlier, “the court” sentenced Asgarov to life imprisonment and Guliyev - to 22 years in prison. 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 two countries signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group, Russia, France and the US are currently holding peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented the UN Security Council's four resolutions on the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding regions. Edited by SI --- Follow the author on Twitter: @Asebaa Follow us on Twitter @TRENDNewsAgency