Azerbaijan, Baku, 7 February /corr. Trend I.Alizade / Lord Russell Johnston, the Head of the Sub-committee on the Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), will commence his visit to Azerbaijan on 7 February, a source at the Azerbaijan Parliament's Department for Foreign Affairs reported to Trend.
The visit is aimed at becoming familiarized with the situation around Nagorno-Karabakh and the process of talks on the conflict. In addition, the chairman of the Committee will discuss the issue of meetings of the Azerbaijani and Armenian MPs.
The conflict between the two countries of the South Caucasus began in 1988 due to the Armenian territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Since 1992, the Armenian Armed Forces have occupied 20% of Azerbaijan including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and its seven neighbouring districts. In 1994, Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement which ended the active hostilities. The Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group ( Russia, France, and the US) are currently holding the peaceful negotiations.
In January 2005, PACE passed the Resolution 1416 in connection with the Nagorno-Karabakh problem. The Resolution says that Armenia occupies Azerbaijani territories. It also contains various suggestions for the settlement of conflict.
Johnston will meet with the Chairman of Azerbaijan Parliament, heads of the permanent commissions, and the representatives of parties at the Parliament. In addition, Johnston is expected to meet Ilham Aliyev -the President of Azerbaijan.
The visit will conclude on 8 February.