Azerbaijani FM meets PACE rapporteur

Baku, August 26, AZERTAC Azerbaijani Minister of Foreign Affairs Elmar Mammadyarov has met a delegation led by Milica Markovic, rapporteur of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe on the topic "The inhabitants of the frontier regions of Azerbaijan who have been deliberately deprived access to water". Mammadyarov stressed the importance of water supply in the South Caucasus region and Azerbaijan, adding access to water should be provided as enshrined by international documents. The FM spoke of Sarsang water reservoir, which is located in the Armenia-occupied Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan. “Sarsang reservoir was designed to supply the people living in the surrounding areas and the local farms with water. But as a result of Armenian aggression and occupation of Azerbaijan`s lands local inhabitants have been deliberately deprived of water from Sarsang reservoir.” He added that the Armenian side uses Sarsang water reservoir for threatening purposes as “they open the reservoir making the surrounding areas remain underwater in spring, but in warmer periods when the water is mostly needed they deprive access to the facility”. Mammadyarov briefed the PACE rapporteur on the negotiations to solve the dispute, saying Azerbaijan is dissatisfied with the activities of the OSCE Minsk Group. "Azerbaijan will be satisfied only when the Armenian armed forces are withdrawn from the occupied lands of our country," he added. The FM said he believes that Markovic`s report will help increase the awareness of PACE member states and the international community of the water problem encountered by the Azerbaijani population as one of the humanitarian consequences of the Armenian aggression against Azerbaijan.