Karabakh foreign minister blames lack of progress in peace process on destructive policy of Azerbaijan

YEREVAN, January 26. / ARKA /. Nagorno-Karabakh foreign minister Karen Babayan blamed the lack of progress in the Nagorno-Karabakh peace process last year on Azerbaijan’s destructive position, denouncing also Azerbaijani authorities ‘for choosing the path of an unprecedented escalation of tension in the conflict zone, openly ignoring the international peace brokers from the OSCE Minsk Group in particular and the international community in general.

Karen Babayan recalled that the parliament of the Basque Country adopted a resolution last year supporting Nagorno-Karabakh’s right to self-determination. It was the first such resolution, he added.

He also noted that in 2014 Nagorno-Karabakh signed declarations of friendship with various communities in France, the US and Spain.

Karen Babayan expressed confidence that in 2015 Nagorno-Karabakh will make new achievements, adding that the focus of the authorities will be on the peaceful settlement of the conflict and the international recognition of Nagorno-Karabakh Republic.

The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict erupted into armed clashes after the collapse of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s as the predominantly Armenian-populated enclave of Azerbaijan, sought to secede from Azerbaijan and declared its independence backed by succeeding referendum. A truce was brokered by Russia in 1994, although no permanent peace agreement has been signed.

Since then, Nagorno-Karabakh and several adjacent regions have been under the control of Armenian forces of Karabakh. Nagorno-Karabakh is the longest-running post-Soviet era conflict and has continued to simmer despite the relative peace of the past two decades, with snipers causing tens of deaths a year. -0-