Azerbaijan, Baku, May 15 /Trend News, A.Huseynbala/

The leader of the Azerbaijani opposition party considers wrong that all opposition forces did not attend the Karabakh forum.

"I do not know why all political forces did not attend the forum. But dispersion in such a matter is unacceptable," Leader of the Azerbaijan National Independence Party (ANIP) Etibar Mammadov told Trend News on May 15.

The Karabakh forum was held on May 14 upon the initiative of a group of the Azerbaijani opposition parties. Majority of parties represented in the Movement for Karabakh and Republic did not participate in this meeting.

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 U.S. - are currently holding the peace negotiations.

Mammadov said the authorities and opposition should be united in the Nagorno-Karabakh issue.

"This is a national issue, and therefore the principles of the authorities and opposition should be the same," the party's leader said.

The authorities and opposition have always demanded the resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict in accordance with international standards, as part of Azerbaijan's territorial integrity, he said.

"But we know that some unwanted milestones appear in the negotiation process. And so, there must not be divergence of opinions not only amongst the opposition forces, but also even between the authorities and opposition during the situation which do not meet Azerbaijan's national interests in the conflict settlement," Mammadov said.

The Movement for Karabakh and Republic was established by Azerbaijan Popular Front Party, Citizen and Development Party, Musavat Party, Umid Party, Liberal and Democratic parties and several public organizations.

ANIP, founded in 1992, is the first officially registered political party in Azerbaijan. A split occurred in the party when Etibar Mammadov who was chairman of the party until 2004 left the party. Dissatisfaction appeared in the party during Ali Aliyev's chairmanship. At present, Mammadov is the deputy chairman of the International Democratic Society.

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