Jordi Xucla i Costa became the new chairman of the sub-committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe on Nagorno-Karabakh. The decision was made at the PACE meeting on Friday.
PACE adopted the resolution No 1416 about the need to establish the sub-committee on Nagorno-Karabakh in 2005. After the death of the chairman of the sub-committee Lord Russell-Johnston, the activity of this organization was suspended. But the issue of resuming its work remains on the agenda of the Bureau.
The Armenian side prevents the establishment of the sub-committee in every way. Everybody, except Armenian representatives, voted for Jordi Xucla i Costa, Spanish MP, Liberal Party member, the head of the Azerbaijani delegation to PACE, Samad Seyidov, told media.
After discussions the Bureau made a decision to restore the activity of the sub-committee.
The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Armenian armed forces have occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan since 1992, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and 7 surrounding districts.
Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group - Russia, France, and the United States - are currently holding the peace negotiations.
Armenia has not yet implemented the U.N. Security Council's four resolutions on the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding regions.

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