Azerbaijan believes that the French President's visit to the South Caucasus will accelerate the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. "We think that the French President's visit to the South Caucasus, including Azerbaijan, is important," Azerbaijani Presidential Administration Social and Political Department Chief Ali Hasanov said. "The importance of the visit, primarily, testifies to the fact that France is one of the co-chairing countries of the Minsk Group, and the country, which is directly involved in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict settlement."
He said President Sarkozy's visit to the region, his statements made in Yerevan, and in particular, the statements about the unacceptability of maintaining the existing status quo and the importance of changing it, will make a special contribution to the future peace processes in South Caucasus.
The French President launched his tour of the South Caucasus on Thursday. President Sarkozy's is visiting Azerbaijan today.
The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Armenian armed forces have occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan since 1992, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and 7 surrounding districts.
Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group - Russia, France, and the U.S. - are currently holding the peace negotiations.
Armenia has not yet implemented the U.N. Security Council's four resolutions on the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding regions. /Trend/