Sputnik News Service
Azerbaijan Calls for International Pressure on Armenia Over
Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict
UNITED NATIONS, September 29 (Sputnik) - Azerbaijan is urging the
international community to put pressure on Armenia to ensure the
implementation of the United Nations Security Council's resolutions on
the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict settlement, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister
Elmar Mammadyarov said.
The minister delivered a speech on the sidelines of the 73rd session
of the UN General Assembly in New York late on Friday.
"We call upon the international community to send a strong message to
and exert pressure on Armenia to ensure its fill compliance with
international law and to immediately and unconditionally start
implementation of the relevant UN Security Council resolutions adopted
with regard to the settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict,"
Mammadyarov was quoted as saying by the UN official website.
Mammadyarov stressed that if Armenia considered itself a democratic
country, it should act in conformity with democratic values and should
withdraw its troops from Azerbaijan's occupied territories.
"Azerbaijan sincerely believes that there is no alternative to peace,
stability and mutually beneficial regional cooperation and is the most
interested party in the earliest political settlement of the
conflict," the minister added.
The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict dates back to 1988, when the
Armenian-dominated autonomous region announced its secession from the
Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic. In 1991, the Armenia-backed
region proclaimed independence from Azerbaijan and the creation of the
Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, which triggered an armed conflict and led
to Armenia seizing control over most of the region.
In 1994, the two sides reached a ceasefire agreement, however,
tensions escalated again in 2016. The sides soon reached a new truce
but clashes continued.
In 2008, the United Nations adopted a resolution calling for the
immediate withdrawal of Armenian troops from Nagorno-Karabakh and
reaffirmed its support for Azerbaijan's territorial integrity.