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27 October 2016

By Orkhan Quluzade – Trend

The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is the bleeding wound for both Azerbaijan and Turkey, the country’s new Ambassador to Azerbaijan Erkan Ozoral said in an exclusive interview with Trend.

Efforts have been made within the framework of OSCE Minsk Group for many years to solve this issue, the diplomat said.

“Unfortunately, the negotiation process supported by Turkey hasn’t given any positive results so far,” he noted.

The ambassador expressed hope that the ongoing negotiations will become more constructive and concrete steps will be taken to address the issue.

Turkey wants the Caucasus to be a region of peace and prosperity, the diplomat said.

“Turkey has long been suffering from issues and conflicts in neighboring countries,” said Erkan Ozoral. “In this context, we want the Caucasus to become an example for all humanity as “an island of peace”.”

He noted that the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict should be fairly resolved within the framework of sovereignty and territorial integrity of Azerbaijan.

“Turkey has always supported and will support any path Azerbaijan will choose within the framework of these principles,” the ambassador said. “We are ready to provide every support to achieve peace. The great injustice Azerbaijan is facing increases as the settlement of the problem is getting protracted.”

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 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations.

Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.