Baku’s policy is not directed against any country, but at the same time 20 percent of the country is under occupation and Azerbaijan should be prepared to return its territories and restore the sovereignty, and it has every right for it, Foreign Ministry spokesman Elman Abdullayev told journalists on Wednesday. “Azerbaijan’s foreign policy has always been a multisectoral and balanced.
Azerbaijan attaches great importance to good neighborly relations and it should be based on principles of mutual respect,” Abdullayev said.
Azerbaijani Ambassador to Iran Javanshir Akhundov was invited to the Iranian Foreign Ministry on Tuesday, IRNA agency reported.
Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Arakchi received Mr Akhundov and asked him to give an official explanation over media reports that Azerbaijan is going to purchase arms worth more than $1.5 billion from Israel.
The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Armenian armed forces have occupied 20 per cent 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 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. /Trend/