The US companies should refrain from illegal activities on the occupied territories of Azerbaijan, Deputy Minister of Economy and Industry of Azerbaijan Sahil Babayev said Nov.19 at the Azerbaijani-US business forum held in Baku.
“Restoration of the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan is the most important issue for us,” Babayev said. “As you know, Armenia occupied 20 percent of our territory and now urges foreign companies to invest in the occupied territories. We would like the US companies to refrain from that.”
The deputy minister said that US companies should not become the fraud victims of the shows staged by Armenia, and stressed that any activity on the occupied territories is a violation of all international norms.
“There were cases when the Armenian side invited different companies to Yerevan and then offered to visit districts of the country, but took representatives of these companies to Nagorno-Karabakh instead and encouraged them to invest there,” he said. “Once again I would like to note that any activity on these areas is a violation of international norms and Azerbaijan will take all necessary steps to prevent this illegal activity.”
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.
Trend