Belgium wants a speedy settlement of the military conflict between the two neighboring countries – Armenia and Azerbaijan, the Chairman of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, Foreign Minister of Belgium Didier Reynders said April 28 in Baku at a press conference.
“We have discussed the situation with the neighboring country, Armenia, and the occupation of Nagorno-Karabakh, because we are concerned about the incidents on the frontline,” said the minister. “We will be glad to see certain progress in negotiations with the two neighboring countries. Of course, the settlement of the conflict by military means is unacceptable, the problem should be solved within the framework of the OSCE Minsk Group.”
The Belgian minister said that he is also interested to pay attention to the displaced persons in the country. “This is my first visit, and I know that you have about one million people who came from Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh,” said Reynders. “I believe that it is important to meet with refugees and IDPs while visiting the country, it is good to understand the scale of this problem. Because when we accept refugees in Europe, we have the big debates. If you have one million displaced persons, I understand that this is a completely different situation.”
“We adhere to the position of settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict within the territorial integrity of the country,” he said.
The chairman of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe mentioned the issues of bilateral cooperation, democratic values among the discussed ones in Baku.
He said that the energy sector is one of the priorities of Belgium in bilateral relations with Azerbaijan.
“We are ready to deepen cooperation in this field, expand the legal framework between Azerbaijan and Belgium,” said Reynders.
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.
Edited by CN
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