Withdrawal of the Armenian forces from the occupied Azerbaijani territory is the main condition for restoring peace and stability in the region, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov said at a meeting with U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Tina S.Kaidanow on Oct.23.

Mammadyarov mentioned that normalization of the Armenian-Turkish relations and settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict are closely interrelated processes and the advancements should be achieved in parallel in both issues, the ministry’ press service told Trend News.

Noting the importance of opening communication and news for consistent peace and stability in the region, the ministry said that therefore, the Armenian armed forces should be withdrawn from the occupied Azerbaijani territories.

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 7 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.

The U.S. administration attaches great importance to cooperation with Azerbaijan and is interested in its further development, Kaidanow said at the meeting. The U.S. is ready to contribute to speedy settlement of the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict as co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group, Kaidanow said.

According to the U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State, Washington stands for positive progress in settling the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and normalization of the Armenian-Turkish relations.

Turkish and Armenian foreign ministers Ahmet Davutoglu and Edward Nalbandian signed the protocols Ankara-Yerevan in Zurich on October 10. Diplomatic relations between Armenia and Turkey have been broken due to Armenia’s claims of an alleged genocide, and its occupation of Azerbaijani lands. The border between them has been broken since 1993.