EU should take advantage of new realities offered by Karabakh peace process - Azerbaijani ambassador to EU

By Trend

The European Union should asses and take advantage of the new realities offered by the Nagorno-Karabakh peace process, Fuad Isgandarov, Head of Mission of the Republic of Azerbaijan to the European Union wrote in an article in 'Emerging Europe' agency.

Isgandarov said that peace settlement between Azerbaijan, and Armenia, is a historic moment for the two countries, the Southern Caucasus region – and the EU.

“Peace for Karabakh means that international law has been restored, at a time when the EU often seems like an isolated beacon of justice. It is a landmark for those who believe in the peaceable co-existence of diverse communities. It means a major threat to Europe’s energy security and diversity of supply is removed. And it unblocks, after thirty years, a vital independent land corridor via Turkey-Armenia-Azerbaijan for trade between Asia and Europe,” Isgandarov wrote.

He also brings up the point that fundamental to the Armenian government’s case for its occupation of Karabakh has been its insistence on the impossibility of peaceful co-existence.

“My government refuses to accept this. Azerbaijan, a Muslim-majority secular nation, prides itself on the diversity of its people and religions, with large and flourishing Jewish and Christian Orthodox minorities enjoying their rights as both citizens and people of faith. Armenians and Azerbaijanis live as neighbors in Georgia, in Russia, in Europe and the US. 30,000 Armenians still live peacefully in different cities and regions of Azerbaijan,” he wrote.

“We know that regional co-operation is vital, and we are confident that it will be possible. Both nations are members, alongside other regional and EU member states, of TRACECA – the Transport Corridor Europe-Caucasus-Asia project. The remit of that project is extremely broad: it covers maritime transport, aviation, road and rail, transport security, and transport infrastructure. It is just one example that we can use to reach out to each other in partnership,” he wrote.

“Political and economic realities have shifted in the Caucasus over the past two decades. Now, the potential benefits to the region and the European Union are self-evident. Though we had hoped it had been more forthcoming in its support for case based on rule of international law, we must now look to the future. I believe that European Union should asses and take advantage of the new realities following the peace deal,” he wrote.

Concluding Isgandarov said that the war is over, yet the peace offers a win-win for the entire Southern Caucasus, as well as the EU.

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