Historical background to the document of "Speech of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Heydar Aliyev at the meeting with the ambassador for special missions of Minsitry of Foreign Affairs of Russian Federation Vladimir Kazimirov" (Baku, January 31, 1994)


In 1993, six more districts around the Nagorno Karabakh region of the Republic of Azerbaijan were occupied by the armed forces of Armenia. A rejection by armenians to free those territories by means of negotiations, made impossible any ceasefire at that time. At the end of 1993-and the beginning of 1994, Azerbaijani army launched an attack to liberate the occupied territories. The settlement of Horadiz and a part of the districts of Fyzuly, Aghdam and Kelbajar were liberated in the course of military operations.

In the period of military operations, the OSCE Minsk group, especially Russia, represented by an ambassador Kazimirov there, strengthened its efforts to achieve a ceasefire.

Vladimir Kazimirov, a soviet ambassador to several Latin American and African countries in 1971-1991, was appointed the head of the mediator mission of the Foreign Ministry of the Russian Federation for the regulation of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict on May 5, 1992.

He carried out missions as a special representative of Russia at the Minsk group from the June of the same year, a plenipotentiary envoy of the president of the Russian Federation for the regulation of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict from February 23, 1994, the co-chairman of the Minsk group from Russia since January of 1995 to September of 1996.

Kazimirov visited the region nearly 50 times during his mission as a mediator for the settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict peacefully. He was one of the main participants in the preparation of the Bishkek protocol of 5-8 May, 1994, defining the ceasefire regime between Armenia and Azerbaijan. According to the protocol, with the ratification of an agreement signed by Azerbaijan, Armenia and the Nagorno Karabakh separatist regime on May 12, 1994, a ceasefire was declared between the conflicting sides, and shall be in force until the present day.

In the peace process of the period of 1994-1996, no new outcome was achieved except the ceasefire. V. Kazimirov resigned from the Minsk group co-chairmanship in September 1996. He was replaced by another Russian diplomat, Yuri Yukalov .

A Russian ambassador to Costa-Rica in 1996-1999, Vladimir Kazimirov, in his interviews after the resignation, accused Azerbaijan in lingering resolution of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict, especially in the of the violations and the occupations in 1992-1993, as well as Armenia. He also declared the necessity of the participation of the separatist regime of the Armenian community of Nagorno Karabakh in the negotiations, constantly opposed by Azerbaijan.

Before the signing of a ceasefire agreement Vladimir Kazimirov met with the president of the Republic of Azerbaijan Heydar Aliyev to achieve this goal during his next visit to the region in course of fierce military operations, on January 31, 1994. The head of the state of Azerbaijan explained that harshness of the battles were to due to the aggression of the armed forces of Armenia and their continued keeping of the Azerbaijani territories under occupation.

Although he said to Kazimirov he intended peace and made peace calls to all the Armenian community, however at this meeting he declared that Azerbaijan would not agree to inappropriate peace: "We'll never let any dishonest peace for the Republic of Azerbaijan, for the people of Azerbaijan. We have enough power and opportunities to defend our sovereign republic, its territory."

Historical background was compiled on April 11, 2006.