Vardan Oskanian burns the bridges

"Karabakh is Armenian land. Armenians have lived here for thousands of years and defended their sovereignty," he maintained.

The minister stated that his country had allegedly never put forth any territorial claims in the official meetings and that "it is impossible" for Karabakh to be under Azerbaijan's control.

"Azerbaijan has no moral right to claim Nagorno Karabakh, as it tried to take over these territories through military interference several times in 1990s. If Armenians had not taken the needed steps, there would not be a single Armenian left there by now," Oskanian alleged.
Azeri officials have repeatedly stated that the country's territorial integrity could not be bargained upon and that any solution to the dispute must envision liberation of Azeri land from under Armenian occupation and the return of refugees home.

Nagorno Karabakh, which is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan, has both Azerbaijani and ethnic Armenian population. It was occupied by Armenia in early 1990s, along with seven other Azerbaijani districts, after large-scale hostilities that killed up to 30,000 people and forced over a million Azeris out of their homes. The ceasefire accord was signed in 1994, but peace talks have been fruitless so far and refugees remain stranded, AssA-Irada informs.

/AzerNEWS/