Hikmet Hajiyev: Last year was a lost year for resolution of the  Nagorno Karabakh conflict

ArmInfo.  As it was said by Azerbaijani President unfortunately last year was a lost year with regard to the resolution of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict.

We can't see any particular movement with regard to the resolution of the  conflict and on the contrary, we have seen counterproductive  destructive policy by Armenia," Hikmet Hajiyev, Assistant to the  President - Head of the Department for Foreign Policy Affairs of  Azerbaijan's Presidential Administration said in an interview with  euractiv.com website, APA reports.

According to him,  Armenian side tried to change the format of the  negotiation process.

 "We have already established the format of the negotiation process.  Armenia and Azerbaijan are conflict parties and OSCE Minsk Group  Co-Chairs are mediators.  Then the Armenian side at the very high  level said that new territories are new wars, no inch of territory  back and finally Armenian PM in Stepanakert said that Nagorno  Garabagh is Armenia. It is pure annexation of the territory of  sovereign state at the level of leadership of one country against  another one. It is completely unacceptable.  It was an element of not  just undermining, destroying the entire negotiation process.  We have  communicated with a message to co-chair countries to international  community Nagorno Garabagh is Azerbaijan and exclamation,"  Azerbaijani President's aide stated. 

"We have taken positive note about the EU's principled and firmed  position with regards to territorial integrity and sovereignty and  inviolability of internationally recognized borders of Azerbaijan.  Particularly it has been reaffirmed in the partnership priorities  document that has been signed between EU and Azerbaijan.  And we also  see a continuation of this policy, especially in the implementation  of common foreign and security policy document of the EU that has  been endorsed in the Parliament of the EU is a bounding principle  that says that EU supports the territorial integrity of all Eastern  partners. For us, it is critically important and we appreciate that  position and we do think that with core fundamental principles  deriving from the Helsinki Final Act and international law should be  on non-selective manner to be applied to all conflicts and include  the respect to all Eastern Partnership countries and we would like  also to see further continuation of this policy and seeing also  reflected in EU position in some other different forums as in OSCE,  UN. Because territorial integrity is a must for every and each  country," Hikmet Hajiyev stated.

It should be noted  that summing up the results of the activities of  Russian diplomacy in 2019 regarding the Karabakh issue, the Ministry  of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation noted in particular:  "There have been no noticeable changes in the Nagorno-Karabakh  settlement. There are shifts in the implementation of the" small  steps "agreed by the foreign ministers of affairs at a meeting in  Moscow in April 2019 to develop the agreements reached between the  President of Azerbaijan and the Prime Minister of Armenia in Vienna  in March 2019. The situation on the border and the contact line  remains relatively calm. There is a hotline between Yerevan and Baku.  A journalistic exchange has been carried out. Zaven Karapetyan and  Ilvin Ibragimov, who were held captive, have been returned. Work on  other prisoners is ongoing. The ICRC is connected to it. We believe  that all this indicates the parties' intention to take concrete steps  aimed at preparing the population for peace. "

At the same time, the Foreign Ministry stated that so far no progress  has been made on matters of the essence of the settlement. The  Russian Foreign Ministry recalled that this topic was discussed  during the recent visits of Sergey Lavrov to Yerevan and Baku. "There  is hope that a substantive conversation will resume between the  parties in the foreseeable future. For our part, we will provide the  necessary assistance together with the French and American co-chairs  in the Minsk Group," the Russian Foreign Ministry emphasized.