Double standards decelerates Nagorno-Karabakh conflict's settlement

/By AzerNews/

By Mushvig Mehdiyev

Baku has once more put forward Yerevan's aggressive position in the settlement process aimed at ending the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

Foreign Minister, Elmar Mammadyarov said the four resolutions adopted by the UN Security Council on the immediate and complete liberation of the occupied Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts are yet to be fulfilled by Armenia due to approach based on double standards.

Addressing the Atlantic Treaty Association meeting in Turkey, Mammadyarov said Azerbaijan has faced many challenges since it gained its independence.

"In particular, Armenia occupied more than 20 percent of Azerbaijan's territory - Nagorno-Karabakh and seven adjacent districts. More than one million people became refugees and IDPs as a result of such Armenian aggression, which lasts for more than 23 years," he said.

The minister further highlighted Azerbaijan's successful development in the post-independence period amid all the difficulties which were caused by Armenia's aggression and subsequent occupation of Azerbaijan's lands.

Azerbaijan's achievements in the field of economy over the past 10 years resulted in a drop in the poverty rate - from 49 percent to 4 percent. The country's GDP grew by 3.5 times and the country has become a regional leader.

Mammadyarov made his comments also on Azerbaijan-NATO relations, stating on Azerbaijan's ongoing contribution to the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force mission operating in Afghanistan since January 2015.

"Azerbaijan will participate in the ISAF until the end of the mission. The country renders substantial military, transit, material assistance within this mission," he said.

The ISAF, the UN-created security mission in Afghanistan dealt with training procedures for the Afghan forces and to assist Afghanistan in rebuilding key government institutions along with armed operation engagements. The ISAF ceased combat operations and was disbanded in December 2014, its successor, the Resolute Support Mission remaining behind in an advisory role, and supported by numerous countries including Azerbaijan.

Mammadyarov said Azerbaijan supports Afghanistan in the fields of economy, education, elimination of consequences of emergency situations.

He also highlighted the courses organized by the Azerbaijan Diplomatic Academy, the training programs carried out by the National Agency for Mine Action of Azerbaijan for Afghan specialists where manuals were issued for local populations about mine safety. Mammadyarov vowed Azerbaijan's continuous aid to Afghanistan.

NATO, in turn, supports a peaceful settlement to find a comprehensive resolution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. The military alliance sees no direct involvement in the negotiation process seeking to find a peace-based end to the conflict. But, it supports the OSCE Minsk Group efforts directed at the conflict's soonest solution to restore permanent regional peace and stability.