Azernews.Az

BAKU – The European Union has once again confirmed that the Nagorno Karabakh region, which has been at the core of a bitter conflict in the South Caucasus for two decades, is a territory within Azerbaijan’s recognized borders with an ethnic Armenian majority.

The European Parliament said on its website Tuesday that the region was ravaged by an Azerbaijani-Armenian war between 1992 and 1994 and international mediation still has not established a lasting peace. Recently EP President Jerzy Buzek visited the area and on Wednesday the EP’s Foreign Affairs Committee held a hearing about the situation there.

The statement said the region is "an ethnically homogenous Armenian enclave within the territory of Azerbaijan" with a population of around 140,000. The region claims statehood, but is not recognized even by Armenia. Despite the 1994 ceasefire, tensions still run high, there are acts of violence and many fear Azerbaijan's military may challenge the status quo, the EP said.

Regarding attempts to resolve the long-standing conflict, the EP noted that the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), through the Minsk Group, co-chaired by Russia, France and the United States, is trying to find a lasting solution. The principles for a settlement, known as the Madrid principles, include