Azerbaijan does not expect anything new from the upcoming visit of the OSCE Minsk Group to the region, Azerbaijani Deputy Foreign Minister Araz Azimov told journalists on Thursday. “Armenia, as before, takes advantage of the situation for its own selfish ends. Rather than responding to Azerbaijan’s constructive proposals, Armenia chooses a different way, uses occupied Azerbaijani territories for its selfish ends and, thus, shows no interest in moving the process forward,” Azimov said.
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 seven 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 and the surrounding regions.