Friday, May 20 2016 05:37

Azerbaijan`s Parliament Speaker Ogtay Esedov has met with Chairman of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe Pedro Agramunt on sidelines of the Plenary Session of the Inter-parliamentary Assembly of the Commonwealth of Independent States (IPA CIS) in St Petersburg.  

APA's Moscow bureau reports that expressing his gratitude for the fair position on the settlement of Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Ogtay Esedov stressed that the Azerbaijani delegation actively represented in this international structure: "Main direction of Azerbaijan`s activity in Council of Europe is to gain the fair settlement of the Nagorno- Karabakh conflict." 

The Speaker highlighted positions of the international organizations, saying status-quo could not continue.  
Pedro Agramunt, in turn, shared his remarks saying all conflict must be solved within the territorial integrity of the countries. The Chairman said he would spare no efforts for solving the conflict.  

Meantime, it was Azerbaijan that unleashed large-scale aggression against Nagorno Karabakh on April 2 targeting not only the combat position of the NKR Defense Army but also civilians and populated areas.  During the April war, Baku violated the International Humanitarian Law and the Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms.  

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.