Azerbaijan and Armenia have an obligation before the Council of Europe (CoE) to protect human rights in their territories, as well as the peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. The statement came from CoE Secretary General Marija Pejcinovic Buric, speaking at the Russian Foreign Ministry's Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO University) on Monday, TASS reports.

Armenia and Azerbaijan are members of the Council of Europe, both countries have assumed an obligation to resolve the conflict peacefully, and both countries have an obligation to abide by the European Convention on Human Rights, she said.

According to Pejcinovic Buric, in the context of this conflict, the broader issue of ensuring human rights is being raised in the disputed territories; regardless of politics, the people living there must rely on the same standards of human rights, democracy, and the rule of law as any European, the national authorities are obliged to ensure that, and the CoE must have free access to these areas so that they can assess the situation and provide proper assistance.

The CoE chief noted that the resolution of conflicts and territorial disputes is not within the competence of her organization. However, she stressed that one of the priorities of her powers in this capacity is to resolve the issue of human rights in the disputed territories.