Azernews.Az

The European Union stands ready to provide additional assistance for confidence-building measures in the resolution of the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict over Nagorno Karabakh, European Council President Herman Van Rompuy told journalists in Baku last week.

``The EU will continue to insist that Azerbaijan and Armenia step up the effort to reach an agreement,`` Van Rompuy said.

He said the Madrid Principles, a peace outline for Nagorno Karabakh conflict settlement offered by OSCE mediators, remain the main valid basis for peace.

Van Rompuy also called on Azerbaijan and Armenia to avoid further violence in their long-running dispute.

``I regret the loss of human lives on the Line of Contact [of Azerbaijani and Armenian troops], but the clock can`t be turned back from these tragic incidents, though lessons can be learnt,`` Van Rompuy said.

Tensions escalated on the frontline after a series of clashes in June in which nine soldiers from both sides were reported killed. Azerbaijan`s Defense Ministry blamed the Armenian side for all the skirmishes.

Van Rompuy said the efforts of the mediating OSCE Minsk Group and its co-chairs to achieve peaceful resolution have full support of the EU.

``Reaching a solution of the conflict will take time, and building trust is the first step toward finding a solution. Without trust there will never be peace,`` he added.

The Nagorno Karabakh conflict emerged in 1988 when Armenia leveled territorial claims against Azerbaijan. The two countries fought a lengthy war that displaced about one million Azerbaijanis. Since the fragile ceasefire accord signed in 1994, Armenian armed forces have occupied over 20 percent of Azerbaijan`s internationally recognized territory, in defiance of international law. Peace talks, brokered by the United States, Russia and France through the OSCE Minsk Group, have been largely fruitless so far.

Armenia has not yet implemented the U.N. Security Council`s four resolutions on its pullout from Nagorno Karabakh and the seven surrounding regions.

The Madrid Principles, also known as Basic Principles, are the basis for the ongoing peace talks. The document envisions a return of the territories surrounding Nagorno Karabakh to Azerbaijani control; determining the final legal status of Nagorno Karabakh; a corridor linking Armenia to the region; and the right of all internally displaced persons to return home.