OIC to take stronger position in resolving Nagorno-Karabakh conflict
By Nazrin Gadimova
A contact group, which will be created under the Organization of the Islamic Cooperation (OIC), will take stronger position in resolving the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
Mevlut Cavusoglu, the Turkish Foreign Minister made the statement on April 13.
"Turkey will continue to support Azerbaijan", he said, adding that today, the Islamic world is facing a number of challenges that must be addressed through dialogue and close cooperation.
Cavusoglu believes that the OIC should intensify its activity in this regard. "The Organization of Islamic Cooperation is of great importance for the whole Islamic world," he concluded.
The OIC announced on April 12 about its plan to establish a contact group for the settlement of the long-lasting Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Baku appraised this decision given that the OSCE Minsk Group failed to resolve the conflict.
The OIC always kept the issue of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict in focus. Its member states expressed concern over the occupation of Azerbaijan territories by Armenia as well as the looting and destruction of archeological, cultural and religious monuments in those areas, including those Islamic monuments included in the resolution adopted by the organization during the OIC summit in Dakar, Senegal in 2008.
Moreover, the Organization has repeatedly slammed Armenia for the destruction of Islamic artifacts in the invaded lands.
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.
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Nazrin Gadimova is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @NazrinGadimova
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