Azernews.Az

The main purpose of European Union special representative for South Caucasus Philippe Lefort's visit to Azerbaijan this week was to hold talks on the long-standing Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, the EU office in Azerbaijan told AzerNews.

During his visit to the capital Baku, Lefort met with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev. The sides discussed the current status and prospects of Azerbaijan-EU cooperation.

Lefort touched on the ongoing talks to settle the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

The EU envoy also met with Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov. They exchanged views on a peaceful settlement of the Karabakh conflict. Minister Mammadyarov informed Lefort about Azerbaijan's position on the conflict resolution and emphasized that the stance of the Armenian leadership produces an impression of a lack of political will.

Mammadyarov said further that the case of Azerbaijani military officer Ramil Safarov -- who was transferred to his home country after serving part of his life sentence in Hungary for killing an Armenian officer in Budapest in 2004 -- stayed in the past for Azerbaijan. Raising of the issue again by Armenia merely serves political aims.

After Ramil Safarov's extradition and pardon by President Ilham Aliyev, tensions between Azerbaijan and Armenia began to increase.

Political analyst Rasim Musabeyov, who met with the EU representative, does not expect any substantial action from the EU in Karabakh settlement. He believes that Lefort's visit was just a regular visit by the EU special representative.

Another analyst, Aydin Mirzazade, said in an interview with AzerNews that he does not think the main purpose of Lefort's arrival was linked to the Karabakh conflict or Ramil Safarov's pardon. "But it is possible that this topic may have been raised and in this case Azerbaijan would have declared its position."

"Today, no country or international organization, except Armenia, cites the illegality of Azerbaijan's actions," Mirzazade said. He added: "Some countries predicted that the situation in the region would be strained after Safarov's pardon but the main reason of the tension is the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict."

EU- Azerbaijan ties

During the meeting with the Foreign Minister, Lefort discussed various aspects of EU - Azerbaijan cooperation and development prospects of bilateral relations.

He noted the importance of expanding the cooperation in different fields.

Lefort termed Azerbaijan as an important partner of the EU and stressed the significant role of the projects such as Eastern Partnership and European Neighborhood Policy.

Aydin Mirzazade told AzerNews that the EU has already expanded beyond European geographical borders and is interested in the promotion of European values within the sphere of its influence: "Azerbaijan could demonstrate its sincere attitude to the European Union and managed to strengthen it with real steps."

The EU and Azerbaijan are maintaining relations under the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement, which was signed in 1996 and came into force in 1999. In 2009, the EU passed a decision to start negotiations on the conclusion of bilateral association agreements of Azerbaijan, Georgia and Armenia with the bloc. These agreements will be a new practical instrument to replace the bilateral action plans.

Azerbaijan is also included in the EU's Eastern Partnership program, adopted at the initiative of Poland and Sweden and approved at the EU summit in Brussels in 2008. The Eastern Partnership is aimed at political and economic rapprochement of six post-Soviet states -- Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia, Moldova, Ukraine and Belarus -- and the EU. The program provides a significant increase in the level of political engagement, broad integration of the former Soviet republics in the EU economy, increase in the amount of financial assistance and strengthening of energy security.