Minister: Pakistan backs Baku’s fair position on Nagorno-Karabakh conflict

Foreign Minister of Azerbaijan Elmar Mammadyarov met with a delegation headed by Pakistan’s Federal Minister of Defence Production Rana Tanveer Hussain on September 27, Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry told Trend.

At the meeting, Rana Tanveer Hussain expressed satisfaction with his visit to the country to participate in the second Azerbaijan International Defence Industry Exhibition ADEX 2016, and stressed that the exhibition is organized at a high level.

The minister noted that Pakistan strongly supports Azerbaijan's fair position in the settlement of the Armenian-Azerbaijani NagornoKarabakh conflict.

In turn, Mammadyarov said that he highly appreciates this position of Pakistan, and noted that the soon visit of the Prime Minister of Pakistan to Azerbaijan will make an important contribution to the development of bilateral ties.

The sides stressed the high-level development of bilateral political relations between Azerbaijan and Pakistan, noted the existence of opportunities for expansion of cooperation in the defense sector and the military industry.

They also noted the importance of expanding cooperation in the private sector, pharmacology, agriculture and other spheres, as well as increase joint efforts of trade between the two countries.

Azerbaijan and Armenia for over two decades have been locked in conflict, which emerged over Armenian territorial claims. Since the 1990s war, Armenian armed forces have occupied over 20 percent of Azerbaijan's internationally recognized territory, including NagornoKarabakh and seven adjacent regions. The UN Security Council has adopted four resolutions on Armenian withdrawal, but they have not been enforced to this day.

Pakistan supported Azerbaijan during and after the war over Nagorno-Karabakh with Armenia. Relations between these two states dates back to 1991 when the Soviet Union collapsed and Azerbaijan gained its independence. Pakistan was among the first countries that recognized Azerbaijan.

Overall, Pakistan has been one the closest allies and strategic partners of Azerbaijan in the Asian continent in various fields such as political, economic and military spheres for a long time.