Gambia and Djibouti Join Resolution of Karabakh Conflict

Baku / 20.09.16 / Turan: In the framework of the 71^st session of the UN General Assembly the contact group of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) held its first meeting dedicated to the issue of the Armenian aggression against Azerbaijan.

The contact group is composed of seven countries - Turkey, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Malaysia, Gambia and Djibouti.

Speaking at the meeting, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan Elmar Mammadyarov expressed hope that the meeting of the contact group would be a good opportunity to inform the OIC member countries on the current situation of conflict in the region and promote the contribution of OIC in the settlement of the Karabakh conflict.

The Minister reminded that OIC, based on the UN Security Council resolutions, called the actions of Armenia in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan open aggression. Despite the fact that since the beginning of the military conflict 24 years have passed, Armenia, ignoring the Security Council resolutions and the UN General Assembly, continues its illegal occupation of the Azerbaijani territories.

According to him, Armenia continues to build up its military potential in the occupied territories, as well as to make demographic, cultural and physical changes in them, trying to prevent the return of hundreds of thousands of Azerbaijanis to their native lands, and seeking to preserve the status quo at all costs.

However, as shown by the April events, the status quo, which the international community considers unsustainable and unacceptable, constitutes a threat to regional stability and security. ‘The sooner the Armenian side will withdraw its troops from the occupied Azerbaijani territories, the more benefits it will bring to regional security,’ said the head of the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry. -06d--