Baku called U.S. co-chair of OSCE MG to be careful

Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry has called on the OSCE Minsk Group co-chair to be careful in statements.

"Conducting the mediation mission to settle the conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia is also a responsibility of the U.S. along with Russia and France," Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry spokesman Elman Abdullayev wrote on his Facebook page March 24, commenting on the OSCE Minsk Group U.S. co-chair, James Warlick's statement on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

Warlick earlier wrote on his Twitter page that the conflict exists between Nagorno-Karabakh and Azerbaijan.

"The responsibility of the co-chairing countries, which conduct mediation efforts in the talks between Baku and Yerevan to resolve the Armenian- Azerbaijani conflict, is to restore justice. Restoration of justice means forcing Armenia to comply with norms and principles of international law, towards which this country continues to show disrespect," Abdullayev wrote.

The ministry's spokesman said James Warlick making statements in regard to the conflict's settlement, has to be careful, because the matter here rests on the violation of international law and humanitarian catastrophe faced by the people of Azerbaijan.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Armenian armed forces have occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan since 1992, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group, Russia, France and the U.S. are currently holding peace negotiations.

Armenia has not yet implemented the U.N. Security Council's four resolutions on the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding regions.


/Trend/