Azernews.Az

BAKU – The issue of displaced persons is a major obstacle to the developments in the South Caucasus region, the European Union special envoy visiting Baku has said.

Peter Semneby said in a meeting with the Azerbaijani community of Nagorno Karabakh, a region occupied by Armenian troops since a war in the early 1990s, that he had studied the situation facing the IDPs in Azerbaijan.

Semneby said that two issues should be particularly taken into account in signing a peace accord in the future. "These are Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity and ensuring a return of the displaced population to their homes.

Up to a million Azerbaijanis were displaced by the war over the mountainous region of Nagorno Karabakh. Armenian armed forces have occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, despite UN resolutions on their unconditional pullout. The ceasefire accord was signed in 1994, but the OSCE-brokered peace talks have been mostly fruitless to date.

Semneby said he believes restoring the relations that once existed between Azerbaijan and Armenia would facilitate a solution to the long-lasting dispute.

Bayram Safarov, the leader of Nagorno Karabakh’s Azerbaijani community, said that economic relations with Armenia were ruled out until Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity has been restored.

Representatives of the community suggested that their delegation be invited to the EU office. Semneby welcomed the proposal.