Azerbaijani Deputy Foreign Minister Khalaf Khalafov met with Barry Devolin, member of the ruling Conservative Party of the Canadian Parliament, chairman of the Azerbaijan-Canada inter-parliamentary friendship group.

Khalafov stressed the inadmissibility of the activity of Canadian companies in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan, the Azerbaijani foreign ministry said May 21.

Khalafov also urged the international community to refuse from using the policy of double standards and to demonstrate a fair position to compel aggressor Armenia for a constructive approach to the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict settlement.

He also stressed the need for Canada’s active participation in this issue. Canada is a NATO member.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

The two countries signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group, Russia, France and the US are currently holding peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented the UN Security Council’s four resolutions on the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding regions.