Armenia has been unwilling to agree to return to Azerbaijan the occupied territories, Matthew Bryza, former US ambassador to Azerbaijan and former co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group, told Trend Sept.13.

The National Assembly of Armenia has adopted a decision to declare conditional war against Azerbaijan in the sidelines of “Shant-2018” drills scenario.

The war, started by Armenia against Azerbaijan, has been going on for more than 27 years.

Spokesman of the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry Hikmat Hajiyev told Trend on Sept. 13 that the scenario of declaring war on Azerbaijan as part of its military command and staff exercises Shant-2018 by Armenia is another confirmation and recognition of the obvious fact that Armenia is an invader state and an aggressor.

“I also believe that the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) to not want to see a settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, which would reduce the organization’s ability to raise money from donors,” said Bryza.

He noted that the United Nations Security Council should, of course, enforce its four resolutions pertaining to Nagorno-Karabakh.

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.