OSCE Yerevan office has no authority on Karabakh conflict issues

"Indeed, Azerbaijan hasn’t supported extension of mandate for the OSCE office in Yerevan. Azerbaijan has repeatedly brought to OSCE’s attention that the military and political activities of the Yerevan office go beyond its mandate. The office participated in events held in the occupied Azerbaijani territories, particularly in the projects on mine clearance in Nagorno-Karabakh,” Hajiyev said.

Such activity displeases the Azerbaijani side as the Yerevan office has no authority to deal with the issues connected with the Karabakh conflict, he added.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts. The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations.

Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.