Azernews.Az

Euronest parliamentary assembly, a newly established body of the European Union’s Eastern Partnership program, will hold its first session on September 14-15, bringing together MPs and representatives of the Eastern Partnership member countries.

Head of the Azerbaijani delegation to the assembly, Elkhan Suleymanov, said the 10-people-strong delegation will head to Strasbourg on September 12 to attend the meeting.

Participants are expected to adopt an advisory document for the Eastern Partnership summit, due in Warsaw on September 29-30.

Regarding amendments to the document proposed by the representatives of Armenia, Azerbaijan’s foe, Suleymanov said the proposals covered Armenia’s inclusion in regional energy policy, its involvement in the process of economic integration and international projects, and opening up of borders between the six Eastern Partnership member states - Azerbaijan, Georgia, Armenia, Ukraine, Moldova, and Belarus.

The Azerbaijani delegation has vehemently opposed Yerevan’s proposals. Baku informed Euronest PA members that Armenian armed forces have occupied over 20 percent of Azerbaijan’s territory since a 1990s war and that a million Azerbaijanis displaced during the armed conflict are still unable to return home. The Azerbaijani representatives also noted that Yerevan is pursuing a destructive policy in the region, Suleymanov said.

A Euronest bureau meeting on the first day of the session is due to discuss Azerbaijan’s proposal to hold the next plenary session of the assembly in Baku in May 2012.

The formal plenary session will be held on the following day.