Azerbaijan’s participation in NATO summit proves its geopolitical importance
Azerbaijan’s participation in NATO summit proves its geopolitical importance in Eurasia and Eastern Europe, Naciye Selin Senocak, chair holder at UNESCO Cultural Diplomacy Governance and Education, Center for Diplomatic and Strategic Studies (CEDS), told Trend July 9.
The two-day NATO summit kicked off in Warsaw July 8 with participation of Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev. The summit participants are discussing strengthening the stability beyond NATO borders, fighting terrorism, enhancing the defence capability and deterrence means of the Alliance. OSCE Minsk Group Co-chairs James Warlick (US), Igor Popov (Russia) and Pierre Andrieu (France) are also participating in the summit.
The expert said that Azerbaijan is an important country for NATO in fighting the global threats.
“Azerbaijan proved its importance for NATO in Afghanistan and Kosovo,” added Senocak.
The discussions on the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict in NATO summit show that Azerbaijan always keeps this issue on the agenda, she said.
The expert said that although the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict was discussed at the NATO summit, there is no point to expect decisive steps from this summit for resolving the issue.
“The OSCE Minsk Group didn’t achieve results in resolving the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict,” said Senocak, adding that Azerbaijan, taking the advantage of the NATO summit in Warsaw, should once again draw the attention of the international community to Armenia’s occupation policy.
The expert pointed out that it is impossible to ensure security in Eastern Europe without the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts. The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations.
Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.
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