Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov discussed the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict with Russian co-chairman of the OSCE Minsk Group Igor Popov on April 22.

“I recently met with Russian co-chairman of the OSCE Minsk Group Igor Popov in Moscow and discussed further actions on the conflict settlement,” Mammadyarov told media in Baku on April 23.

The minister reiterated the unacceptability of preserving the status quo in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and the need for the withdrawal of Armenian troops from the occupied territories of Azerbaijan.

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 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.

Source: www.azernews.az