Baku blames Armenia for blocking substantive talks

/By AzerNews/

By Mushvig Mehdiyev

Armenia is trying to hinder the resumption of substantive talks over the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh, said an official at the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry.

Hikmet Hajiyev, Spokesman for the Ministry, said the Armenian foreign minister made contradictory remarks during the meeting with OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs.

"Edward Nalbandyan once again showed the international community who really blocks the establishment of peace and security in the region,” Hajiyev noted.

He added that the Armenian leadership is fully responsible for the ongoing tensions on the contact line between the Armenian and Azerbaijani armies.

At a meeting with the Minsk Group mediators, Nalbandyan accused Azerbaijan of gross ceasefire violations and deliberate actions aimed at distorting results of the negotiation process over the main principles of the conflict's settlement.

He once more introduced the so-called "Nagorno-Karabakh regime" as part of talks on basic principles and on developing the Comprehensive Peace Agreement.

"The mentioned "Nagorno-Karabakh regime" has never participated in any round of negotiations on working out the basic principles,” Hajiyev said.

Hajiyev said it is obvious that the Armenian side is trying to hinder the resumption of substantive negotiations by all means.

Armenia's provocative behavior towards Azerbaijan has already identified the major and only blocker of the long-lasting peace and stability in the South Caucasus region.

Combat helicopters and unmanned aerial vehicles belonging to the Armenian armed forces attempted to breach Azerbaijan's airspace last year. Furthermore, the Armenian saboteur groups conduct periodical operations on the contact line, flaring the ceasefire into armed skirmishes.

Nalbandyan's groundless defamation of Azerbaijan is serving overtly to mask Armenia's refusal of peace negotiations and offensive policy.

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 four UN Security Council resolutions on the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding regions.