/By AzerNews/

By Sara Rajabova

Armenia’s destructive position in the peace talks to settle the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict still hinders the conflict resolution.

For over 20 years, Yerevan has been deliberately delaying the conflict resolution attempting to maintain the current status quo that means keeping part of Azerbaijan’s internationally-recognized territory under the occupation.

MP Elman Mammadov said as a result of the destructive position of Armenia in 2015, there has been no progress in the negotiations process over the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

He blamed the Armenian military junta for such a situation, noting that as long as the criminals are in power in Armenia, one should not expect progress in the conflict resolution.

“They are interested in maintaining the status quo. In fact, if the conflict is resolved, their power will end,” the MP believes.

Recently, President Ilham Aliyev said Armenia wants to maintain the status quo as long as possible and is unwilling to withdraw its troops from the occupied territories and accepts negotiations as a process, trying to buy time.

Armenia doesn’t want peace, the president said addressing a meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers, dedicated to the social and economic development in 2015 and the objectives for the future.

Mammadov said the president once again outlined the position of Azerbaijan on Nagorno-Karabakh, adding that the country will not accept the occupation of its lands and will free them with every means.

The MP also spoke about the ineffectiveness of the OSCE Minsk Group, an international framework established to mediate over peaceful resolution of the conflict.

“The co-chairs of the Minsk Group act as a party supporting Armenia, rather than a mediator in the conflict resolution. Despite the fact that Armenia is a country-aggressor, and occupied our lands, no pressure imposed on the country. On the contrary, it enjoys support, and we are very sorry about this,” Mammadov said.

The MP believes that in such a situation, Azerbaijan has only one way, that is, to build up its military, economic strength, every day, every hour, as well as to enhance the prestige and continue to seek a solution to the problem.

Armenia occupied over 20 percent of Azerbaijan's internationally recognized territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven adjacent regions, after laying territorial claims against its South Caucasus neighbor that caused a brutal war in the early 1990s. Long-standing efforts by U.S., Russian and French mediators have been largely fruitless so far.

As a result of the military aggression of Armenia, over 20,000 Azerbaijanis were killed, over 4,000 are reported missing and almost 100,000 were injured, and 50,000 were disabled.

The UN Security Council has passed four resolutions on Armenian withdrawal from the Azerbaijani territory, but they have not been enforced to this day.