Azernews.Az

The failure to include in the recent European Parliament resolution a clause on establishing dialogue between the two communities of Nagorno Karabakh -- an occupied Azerbaijani region where ethnic Armenians are running a self-proclaimed republic -- hampers a settlement of the long-standing Karabakh conflict, the head of a Baku-based think-tank says.

``The European Parliament adopted a resolution about EU negotiations on association agreements with Azerbaijan and Armenia, and the most important thing in this resolution is a completely different attitude to the Nagorno Karabakh conflict,`` director of the Center of Political Innovations and Technologies, Mubariz Ahmadoglu, told Azerbaijani news agency Trend last Friday. ``In particular, it recommended Armenia to withdraw its troops from the occupied Azerbaijani territories, not to send youths to Nagorno Karabakh for military service, not to pursue the policy of [illegal] settlements in the occupied territories… But at the same time, attention is drawn to the absence in the EP resolution of a mention of the need for dialogue between the Armenian and Azerbaijani communities of Nagorno Karabakh.``

The analyst said dialogue between the two communities could become a tool enabling the parties to carry out the most important job -- from ``creating an atmosphere of trust to determining the status of Nagorno Karabakh``.

According to Ahmadoglu, those who know why a clause on inter-community dialogue was not included in the EP resolution are also aware of the reason for the Nagorno Karabakh conflict being unresolved.

``By eliminating this reason, it is possible to achieve a peaceful settlement to the conflict. Otherwise, the European Parliament and other European institutions will become facilitators of delaying the settlement process,`` Ahmadoglu said.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries emerged in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. The two countries fought a lengthy war that ended with the signing of a precarious cease-fire in 1994. Armenian armed forces have since occupied over 20 percent of Azerbaijan`s internationally recognized territory, defying international calls and UN resolutions. Peace talks, brokered by the United States, Russia and France through the OSCE Minsk Group, have been largely fruitless so far.