OSCE PA special envoy: Armenian community of Nagorno-Karabakh cannot join negotiation process

The Armenian community of Nagorno-Karabakh cannot join the negotiation process on the settlement of the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict, OSCE PA Special envoy Goran Lennmarker said.

"There is a well-known format of the negotiations- within the OSCE Minsk Group, and they should be continued in this format," Goran Lennmarker said to journalists in Baku.

The Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict should be resolved this year, Lennmarker says.

The conflict is continuing quite a long time, and despite the agreement on ceasefire, the both sides have losses, he said.

According to Lennmarker, military way can not be a solution of any conflict, including Nagorno-Karabakh in any case.

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 7 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 the peace negotiations.

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


/Trend News/