He noted that the former US ambassador’s illegal visit to the occupied Azerbaijani territories is another provocation.

According to him, John Evans has taken such a biased step under the order of the US-based Armenian lobby to deliberately exacerbate the situation especially in such a delicate moment.

It’s no secret that John Evans has close ties with the Armenian National Committee of America, which is a criminal and racist Armenian lobby organization, added Hajiyev.

“Having abused his position as US ambassador to Armenia at the time, this person is known for his pro-Armenian and racist stance. He has defended the interests of the Armenian lobby rather than the country he was supposed to represent. Because of his lack of professionalism and flaws, he was recalled prematurely,” the spokesman said.

The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict entered its modern phase when the Armenian SRR made territorial claims against the Azerbaijani SSR in 1988.

A fierce war broke out between Azerbaijan and Armenia over the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan. As a result of the war, Armenian armed forces occupied some 20 percent of Azerbaijani territory which includes Nagorno-Karabakh and seven adjacent districts (Lachin, Kalbajar, Aghdam, Fuzuli, Jabrayil, Gubadli and Zangilan), and over a million Azerbaijanis became refugees and internally displaced people.

The military operations finally came to an end when Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement in Bishkek in 1994.

Dealing with the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is the OSCE Minsk Group, which was created after the meeting of the OSCE Ministerial Council in Helsinki on 24 March 1992. The Group’s members include Azerbaijan, Armenia, Russia, the United States, France, Italy, Germany, Turkey, Belarus, Finland and Sweden.

Besides, the OSCE Minsk Group has a co-chairmanship institution, comprised of Russian, US and French co-chairs, which began operating in 1996.

Resolutions 822, 853, 874 and 884 of the UN Security Council, which were passed in short intervals in 1993, and other resolutions adopted by the UN General Assembly, PACE, OSCE, OIC, and other organizations require Armenia to unconditionally withdraw its troops from Nagorno-Karabakh.

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