Azernews.Az

The EU is ready to assist in Nagorno-Karabakh conflict settlement, the EU Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighbourhood Policy Stefan Fule says.

"The Eastern Partnership and strengthening of relationship between EU and Azerbaijan opens new ways of the European Union supporting the process to reach a comprehensive settlement to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. EU is ready to assist in Nagorno-Karabakh conflict settlement," Fule said at a video-conference in Baku on Wednesday.

"The EU is ready to strengthen its support. We are ready to contribute to concrete initiatives to support the Minsk Group. We have set a number of confidence building projects," he added.

"We are ready to strengthen it, but of course not against the Madrid principles, not against the efforts of the OSCE Minsk Group, but in a fully compatible way to create conditions for reaching a final solution," he said.

"Once a comprehensive settlement is reached, once a solution is found, then we do not want just to be observers. The EU has a number of its own experiences putting away the walls, the experience of reconciliation and conflict resolution. All of this would be at the disposal of Azerbaijan and Armenia once the resolution is found," Fule added.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 following Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Armenian armed forces have occupied 20 per cent of Azerbaijan since 1992, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group - Russia, France and the U.S. - are currently holding peace negotiations.

This story is published by AzerNEWS Weekly under a project funded by the Foundation for State Assistance to the Development of the Media under the President of the Azerbaijan Republic.