Merkel made the remarks at the German-Ukrainian Economic Forum in Berlin, according to the Moldovan news website www.noi.md.
"Such countries as Georgia, Moldova, Azerbaijan, Armenia and Ukraine cannot develop because of frozen conflicts in South Ossetia, Transnistria, Nagorno-Karabakh region and eastern Ukraine,” she added. “Germany cannot turn a blind eye to the fact that the countries around Russia, including Moldova, cannot develop as they want.”
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.
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