Azernews.Az

BRUSSELS - The European Union considers as premature holding any referenda on the status of Upper (Nagorno) Karabakh, its official has said, referring to an Azerbaijani region under Armenian occupation where ethnic Armenians are running a self-proclaimed republic.

"Any vote on Nagorno Karabakh’s status may take place only after a lengthy process. Now it is necessary to agree on the principles of how this process should proceed, in order to provide guarantees for all sides involved," the EU Special Representative for South Caucasus Peter Semneby told Russian Interfax news agency.

Azerbaijan and Armenia fought a lengthy war that ended with the signing of a cease-fire in 1994, but Armenia continues to occupy Nagorno Karabakh and seven other Azerbaijani districts in defiance of international law. Despite numerous rounds of OSCE-brokered negotiations, peace talks have been largely fruitless so far and refugees remain stranded. Baku says the occupied districts must be freed and Azerbaijani refugees displaced during the armed conflict in the early 1990s returned home, and only after that could the status of Nagorno Karabakh be determined within Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity.

Semneby reminded that the principles for a conflict settlement have already been articulated by the mediating OSCE Minsk Group’s co-chairs - Russia, France and the United States.

"I think this is an excellent framework, and the EU calls on both sides [Azerbaijan and Armenia] to abide by it," the special envoy said.

He also noted that the course of Nagorno Karabakh settlement is affected by the process of normalizing Turkey-Armenia relations.

"There is no formal link between the two processes. At the same time, one can’t deny that whatever happens in one of these processes, it has an impact on the environment of trust, and this has to be taken into consideration," Semneby concluded.

Turkey and Armenia have been at odds and their shared border has been shut since 1993 due to Armenia’s policy of occupation of Azerbaijani territory and Armenian "genocide" claims. The two governments signed protocols in October 2009 to establish diplomatic relations and reopen their borders. However, the accords require approval by both countries’ parliaments, and Ankara has ruled out normalization with Yerevan until progress is made in settling the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan, Turkey’s ally.