Aliyev seeks stepped-up mediation of Karabakh conflict

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev appealed on Tuesday for intensified efforts by the international community to resolve his country's conflict with Armenia over the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh.

Aliyev traveled to Strasbourg to address the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.

His speech came a month after Azerbaijan assumed the six-month Chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe.

The conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh goes back to the collapse of the Soviet Union, when the region's Armenian population sought unification with Armenia, leading to a 1991-1994 war that left more than 25,000 people dead.

Armenia has engaged in ethnic cleansing in Nagorno-Karabakh, Aliyev said.

Armenia's continuing occupation of Nagorno-Karabakh reflects a double standard in international relations, he said, noting that no steps have been taken to enforce the four U.N. Security Council resolutions calling for Armenian withdrawal from the territory.

"Sometimes (Security Council resolutions) are applied in a few hours and, in our case, nothing happens after 20 years," the Azerbaijani president said.

The negotiating process "cannot be eternal," Aliyev said, expressing confidence that the lead mediators, the United States, France and Russia, will direct the talks toward a conclusion.

Aliyev, a former member of the assembly, also responded to questions about allegations of human rights abuses in Azerbaijan.

His government is not holding any political prisoners and freedom of the press is respected, the Azerbaijani president said, dismissing reports to the contrary by NGOs as "biased."