Monday, May 23 2016 05:22

"Today everyone understands that the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict must sooner or later be resolved peacefully and through negotiations," Novruz Mammadov, deputy head of Azerbaijani presidential administration, chief of the administration's foreign relations department said in an interview with ANS TV channel, according to Trend. 

Novruz Mammadov said that the April events on the frontline have once again attracted the attention of international community, the co-chairing countries of the OSCE Minsk Group, as well as a variety of international and regional organizations to the Karabakh conflict, and have shown that the conflict is not frozen.  Mammadov also said that an opinion was formed in Europe, the US and Russia that the conflict needs attention and that time has come to find a solution to it.  

Speaking on the presidential meeting held in Vienna on May 16, Mammadov said that Azerbaijan's desire is to fairly settle the conflict based on within the framework of international law.  Commenting on the expansion of the powers of the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairman after the Vienna meeting, Mammadov said that Azerbaijan has expressed its official position on the issue.  

"The main idea here was to strengthen the ceasefire regime. Armenia, just as in the beginning of April, has been constantly engaged in provocations. In this regard, several proposals were expressed, and one of them is an extension of the mandate of the OSCE Representative for monitoring. We said that that we do not object to this proposal," Mammadov said.  

He again claimed that Armenia allegedly used white phosphorus weapon in Karabakh and urged the OSCE Mission to me impartial while monitoring the situation in the conflict zone.  

To note, on May 16 the Armenian and Azerbaijani Presidents met in Vienna in the presence of Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Sergey Lavrov, Secretary of State of the United States of America John Kerry, and State Secretary for European Affairs of France Harlem Desir, representing the co- chair countries of the OSCE Minsk Group. "They reiterated that there can be no military solution to the conflict. The Co-Chairs insisted on the importance of respecting the 1994 and 1995 ceasefire agreements.

 The Presidents reiterated their commitment to the ceasefire and the peaceful settlement of the conflict. To reduce the risk of further violence, they agreed to finalize in the shortest possible time an OSCE investigative mechanism. The Presidents also agreed to the expansion of the existing Office of the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson in Office.  Finally, they agreed to continue the exchange of data on missing persons under the auspices of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to which the Presidents committed during the Paris summit of October 2014. The Presidents agreed on a next round of talks, to be held in June at a place to be mutually agreed, with an aim to resuming negotiations on a comprehensive settlement," the OSCE Minsk Group's statement says.   

The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict broke out on February 28 1988 in the Azerbaijani Sumgait with massacre of Armenians as a peculiar response of Azerbaijanis to the peaceful demand of the Nagorno-Karabakh autonomous Region, part of the Azerbaijani SSR, to unite with the Armenian SSR. This resulted in other pogroms of Armenians in Baku, Kirovabad and other regions of Azerbaijan populated with Armenians.  In 1991  Azerbaijan unleashed war against peaceful populations of Nagorno-Karabakh, expulsing ethnic Armenians from the territory of Azerbaijan.  Dozens of thousands of peaceful residents on both parties were killed in the military actions, and hundreds of thousands were left homeless and have become refugees. In 1994 in Bishkek in mediation of the OSCE MG, the NKR, Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a Protocol on Ceasefire that is observed more or less so far.  Since 1992 the OSCE Minsk Group represented by co- chairs from Russia, U.S.  and France has been mediating in resolution of the conflict unleashed by Azerbaijan in 1988. The recent flared up of the conflict (April 2-5) when Azerbaijan unleashed an aggression against Nagorno Karabakh was stopped with mediation of the foreign powers.  Diplomatic efforts have been launched towards observation of the ceasefire and possible re-launching of the peace talks.