Azernews.Az

BAKU – Azerbaijan’s government hopes for the European Union’s assistance in settling its conflict with Armenia over Nagorno (Upper) Karabakh, Deputy Foreign Minister Mahmud Mammad-Guliyev has said.

"We think that the EU, as the world’s powerhouse, has the potential to facilitate the solution of this problem. We believe the Nagorno Karabakh conflict will be settled with the support of the EU, the world community, and in compliance with the principles of international law," Mammad-Guliyev, who headed the Azerbaijani delegation at the talks held with EU officials in Brussels, told a news conference.

Azerbaijan and Armenia have been locked in conflict for two decades. OSCE-brokered peace talks kicked off after a lengthy war that ended with the signing of a shaky cease-fire in 1994. Armenian armed forces have occupied over 20 percent of Azerbaijan’s territory since then. The OSCE Minsk Group, co-chaired by the United States, Russia and France, is brokering peace talks. Negotiations have been largely fruitless so far.

The Karabakh conflict was high on the agenda of the EU-Azerbaijan Cooperation Council’s 11th meeting held on Tuesday. The EU was represented by Zsolt Nemeth, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs of Hungary, which will chair the bloc in the first half of 2011, and Stefan Fule, Commissioner for Enlargement and the European Neighborhood Policy (ENP). EU Special Representative for the South Caucasus Peter Semneby took part in the meeting as well.

The EU welcomed the ongoing dialogue between Armenia and Azerbaijan and the recent statement issued by the OSCE Minsk Group co-chair countries and the two countries’ presidents at last week’s OSCE summit in Astana. The EU expressed its support to the efforts carried out by the Minsk Group and informed about EU support to confidence building measures to facilitate the process of resolving the long-standing dispute.

The parties discussed the implementation of the EU-Azerbaijan ENP Action Plan and issues related to enhancing bilateral relations, including the ongoing negotiations of a new EU-Azerbaijan Association Agreement within the framework of the Eastern Partnership, a program that envisions the EU’s closer cooperation with the three South Caucasus states and three other countries.

The Cooperation Council underlined the need to remain focused on and speed up implementation of the ENP Action Plan, including WTO accession, also in view of the Progress Report to be published in spring 2011.

The Cooperation Council provided a good opportunity to take stock of latest developments in the South Caucasus, as well as to review recent political and economic reforms in Azerbaijan.

The EU recalled the importance of continuing progress in democracy, rule of law and human rights, in view of the deepening of relations between the EU and Azerbaijan in the framework of the Eastern Partnership and encouraged Azerbaijan to step up reforms in these fields. The EU reaffirmed its readiness to continue its support for the further development of democratic institutions in Azerbaijan, including in the framework of the European Neighborhood Policy and the Eastern Partnership. The EU welcomed the convening of the first meeting of the EU-Azerbaijan Subcommittee on Justice, Freedom, Security and Human Rights and Democracy, underlining that fundamental freedoms, as well as freedom of expression and freedom of the media, are essential elements in the bilateral relationship.

The Cooperation Council also discussed EU-Azerbaijan cooperation in the energy sector and agreed on the need to further implement the EU-Azerbaijan Memorandum of Understanding on energy signed in November 2006. The Council also discussed several projects in this field and underlined the importance of the next months for the development and effective start of Nabucco and ITGI pipelines.