Mogherini says status quo in Nagorno-Karabakh can only lead to more violence
By Laman Ismayilova
Events in Nagorno-Karabakh are a reminder how dangerous a protracted conflict can be.
This was stated by Federica Mogherini, the EU high representative for foreign affairs and security policy, at a plenary session of the European Parliament in Strasbourg on April 12.
A large scale conflict is not in the interest of anyone and can lead to nowhere, believes Mogherini.
"Everyone now understands that status quo can only lead to more violence and this is exactly what happened. Let us not underestimate dangers of this conflict, let us turn current situation into an opportunity towards peace," she said.
Nagorno-Karabakh and seven adjacent regions of Azerbaijan have been under the control of the Armenian military and separatists since a war between Armenia and Azerbaijan ended in 1994. Over 20 years of negotiations have brought little progress in resolving the conflict, though a fragile truce has been in place.
Heavy fighting erupted between Armenian and Azerbaijani armed forces in the occupied Nagorno-Karabakh region on April 2 following the Armenian provocation.
The renewed hostilities, which are regarded as the worst since the ceasefire deal signed in 1994, were assessed as the result of inactivity of the international community, which turned blind eye to the injustice towards Azerbaijan.
Mogherini further added that the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh was the center of her talks in Armenia and Azerbaijan during her February visit.
Mogherini reminded that the EU is increasing its efforts towards a settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
"It [the conflict] continues to pose a threat to regional security in our neighborhood, and it is an obstacle towards development of both countries and of the entire region. South Caucasus is a crucial region for Europe, it lies on the crossroads between Europe, Asia and the Middle East," she noted.
Baku, which has suffered from Yerevan's aggressive policy for more than two decades, has repeatedly stated that the presence of the Armenian Armed Forces in the occupied territories is a major obstacle to the settlement of the conflict and threat to the regional stability.
Despite the fact that the UN Security Council adopted four resolutions (822, 853, 874 and 884) demanding the Armenian troops to withdraw from Azerbaijan's occupied territories, they were ignored and have not been implemented by Yerevan yet.
Although the OSCE Minsk Group, which is in charge of resolving the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, as well as other international institutions have repeatedly made statements on the conflict resolution, all efforts ended without any result.
Azerbaijan has been and remains committed to the peaceful negotiated solution to the conflict.
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