By Sara Rajabova

A German publicist believes that Armenia must come under pressure by international sanctions for occupying Azerbaijani lands.

Chairman of Board of Trustees of the German-Azerbaijani forum Richard Kiessler said in Baku on October 2 that as Armenia is a weak state, the majority of Armenians are living outside their country, and the internal situation in this country is very sad.

"There should be more pressure on Armenia by international community," Kiessler said.

He noted this has not yet been done because Armenia maintains a strong lobby in other countries, particularly in France and the United States.

"I see these double standards, and it is not good," Kiessler said.

He stressed that the international community should not forget that 20 percent of Azerbaijani territory is occupied by Armenia, adding more active steps should be taken to solve this problem.

For over two decades, Azerbaijan and Armenia have been locked in conflict which emerged over Armenia's territorial claims against its South Caucasus neighbor. Since a war in the early 1990s, Armenian armed forces have occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan's territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding regions.

A fragile ceasefire has been in place since 1994, but long-standing efforts by OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs-U.S., Russia and France that engaged in mediation between conflicting parties have been largely fruitless so far.

Kiessler further added that the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict shouldn't be considered as frozen, because it is a real hot conflict. He recalled the repeated violations of the ceasefire by Armenia, which has left many casualties.

"I think that the international community must do more to address this very dangerous conflict. It is necessary to make new efforts to address it," Kiessler said.

He called on the OSCE Minsk Group to intensify its efforts for the settlement of the long-lasting Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

Kiessler noted that Germany is increasingly talking about the need to assist Azerbaijan in solving this problem.

He further said Azerbaijan is successfully developing and social conditions in the country are getting better and better, adding that this happens not only in Baku, but also in rural areas.

"Year after year, I see that Azerbaijan is getting better and better," Kiessler said.

/AzerNews/