BAKU. Nov 30 (Interfax) - Azerbaijan's foreign minister said on Thursday that Armenia must sign a peace agreement with Azerbaijan in trying to settle the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict if it accepts the proposals of the Minsk Group of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.
Elmar Mammadyarov made the point at a meeting with the European Union's special representative for the South Caucasus and the crisis in Georgia, Philippe Lefort.
The minister also argued at the meeting that Armenia's plan to open an airport in the Nagorno-Karabakh city of Khojaly (Xocali) would impede efforts to settle the conflict. He added that the Minsk Group co-chairs shared this stance.
He said Armenia's military occupation of Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding Azeri areas is the only obstacle to settling the conflict.
Lefort called for dialogue between Nagorno-Karabakh's ethnic Azeri and Armenian communities, arguing that it would be an important component of efforts to establish lasting peace.
He and Mammadyarov expressed satisfaction with current relations between Azerbaijan and the EU. They also discussed energy projects significant for the region.