Azerbaijan, Baku, April 16 / Trend , V. Zhavoronkova/
Azerbaijan prepared to consider any proposals on the resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, ITAR-TASS quoted Azerbaijani Deputy Foreign Minister Mahmud Mammadguliyev as saying at a press conference on the Organization of Black Sea Economic Cooperation meeting in Yerevan.
"If someone has real proposals on the resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, we are ready to consider them," he said in a response to a request to comment on Turkish President Abdullah Gul's statement that Ankara is involved in the resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
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.
"We welcome efforts of any country to address this issue," he said. "Existence of the conflict in the current form gives advantages to none of the sides." "There is no other way but to solve the conflict under international law," he said.
Mammadguliyev said he is not familiar with Turkey's initiative. "But taking into consideration the fact that Turkey is "a participant of the Minsk Group and serious player in the region, we are prepared to consider its proposals. We will support offered ways of resolution if it suits us," he said.
Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandyan said the Minsk Group is the sole format to find a resolution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. "No other format exists," he said.