The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry called the return "occupied territories" the main task of 2019

The restoration of territorial integrity remains the main task facing Azerbaijan in 2019, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry said in the statement of the outgoing year.

"The most important task of our diplomacy remains to put an end to Armenia aggression against Azerbaijan, to free our territories from the occupation and return the forced immigrants to their homes," the document quoted by Interfax says.

"Our country, similarly to how it ensures the safety of its citizens' citizens of other ethnic groups, is ready in accordance with its international obligations to do this in relation to citizens of Armenian origin in the Nagoric Karabakh and grant them the right to self-government within the framework of the international recognized borders of the Azerbaijani Republic. The Azerbaijani Karabarah region of our country is ready to return to Native foci, ”the report said on the official website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The statement notes that the Foreign Ministry will continue to pursue an “independent, flexible, pragmatic and multi -vector policy” in 2019 with the aim of worthy protection and ensuring the national interests of Azerbaijan at the international level and achieve the foreign policy goals set by President Ilham Aliyev.

It is noted that in 2018, President of Azerbaijan Aliyev and the current Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan exchanged views on resolving the Karabakh conflict as part of the CIS summit in Dushanbe and at a meeting in St. Petersburg. Over the past six months, three meetings of the heads of the Azerbaijani and Armenian foreign policy departments took place.

On December 6, as part of a meeting of the Council of Foreign Affairs (SMID) of the Council of Foreign Affairs (SMID), the OSCE Country Councils by the co-chairs of the Minsk OSCE Group and the Foreign Ministry of the Azerbaijan and Armenia, a joint statement was adopted.

"The statement states the consent to continue negotiations with the aim of a peaceful and long -term settlement of the conflict. The call to the chapters of the two states to observe the agreements reached in Dushanbe and take specific steps to prepare the population of the two countries for the world," the document of the Azerbaijan Foreign Ministry said.

Another important aspect, according to the agency, was the opinion reflected in a joint statement about the need to hold "intensive negotiations in the level of the leaders of Azerbaijan and Armenia, aimed at promoting a fair and prolonged resolution of the conflict." “This approach is fully supported by the co -chairs of the Minsk OSCE group,” concluded in the Azerbaijani diplomatic department.

In 1988, the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region announced the exit from the Azerbaijan SSR. As a result of the military conflict of 1992-1994, Azerbaijan lost control of the Nagorno-Karabakh and seven adjacent regions, which became the reason for the proclamation of independence of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic.

Negotiations between Armenia and Azerbaijan have been interrupted by Karabakh since 1992. Azerbaijan defends the principle of preserving its territorial integrity, and Armenia supports the position of the authorities of the Nagorno -Karabakh.