All will benefit from lasting peace as a result of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict settlement, High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Vice-President of the European Commission Federica Mogherini said.

Axar.az reports that Mogherini made the remarks during the press conference following the meeting of the Azerbaijan-Europe Cooperation Council in Brussels on April 4.

“Just last week we witnessed a positive meeting of Azerbaijani and Armenian leaders under the auspices of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs,” she said. “Increased communications at a high level and significant decrease in ceasefire violations give us some hope that the process can move forward and that both countries would follow up on their commitments and into negotiations without preconditions.”

“All would benefit from lasting peace, not only Azerbaijan and Armenian citizens, but also beyond because lasting peace would help to enable the entire region to fulfill its potential,” Mogherini said.

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.