The presentation of the occupied Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan at the Pavilion of Armenia in Le Village de la Francophonie in Yerevan Oct. 9, as part of the 17th Summit of the Francophonie Organization in Armenia, is another provocative step serving continuation of the occupation policy, Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement Oct. 10.

This step clearly demonstrates that Armenia wants to use the Francophonie Organization for its political purposes, reads the statement.

“These acts of Armenia that committed military aggression and occupied Azerbaijani lands grossly violate the norms and principles of international law, the UN Charter, the Helsinki Final Act and at the same time contradict with the Charter of the Francophonie Organization, the goals and objectives of the Organization,” the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry said.

“Armenia’s attempts to politicize the agenda of the Francophonie Organization are vivid evidence of its intentions to camouflage its occupation and aggression policy, as well as to undermine the efforts for peaceful settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, made by the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs, including France, which is the initiator of the Francophonie Organization,” reads the statement.

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.