Azernews.Az

By Sara Rajabova

The European Union urges both parties to the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh to promote and encourage a peaceful solution.

Head of the EU Delegation to Azerbaijan Roland Kobia made the statement at a press conference on Wednesday. Kobia added that the sides also need to strengthen confidence-building measures.

"We saw a low path of negotiations on the conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia on Nagorno-Karabakh in 2012," Kobia said. "The European Neighborhood Policy (ENP) progress report 2012 includes recommendations for Azerbaijan and Armenia to step up the efforts to reach peaceful resolution of the conflict."

Kobia went on to say that the EU has a special representative on this conflict and it would be very useful if he had access to the occupied territories.

Azerbaijan and Armenia fought a lengthy war in the early 1990s. Armenian armed forces have since occupied over 20 percent of Azerbaijan's internationally recognized territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven adjacent regions. The UN Security Council has adopted four resolutions on Armenia's withdrawal from the Azerbaijani territory, but they have not been enforced to this day.

A precarious cease-fire was signed in 1994. However, units of the Armenian armed forces commit armistice breaches on the frontline almost every day.

Russia, France and the U.S. -- co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group -- are mediating peace negotiations. Peace talks
have been mostly fruitless so far.

Kobia also noted the importance of confidence-building measures, saying that the EU calls on both parties to promote an overall environment which would encourage and support peace activities.

Last year it was reported that EU Special Representative for the South
Caucasus Philippe Lefort plans to visit the Armenia-occupied Azerbaijani territories.

However, the Azerbaijani government urged Lefort to explain the purpose of his planned visit to Nagorno-Karabakh.

"Nagorno-Karabakh is under occupation and one can visit these areas only after obtaining Azerbaijan's permission," Deputy Foreign Minister Araz Azimov stated then.

Azimov noted that for now the EU is not involved in the conflict settlement, but only supports the efforts of the OSCE Minsk Group. In the future, however, the EU may be involved in resolving any issues related to the conflict, the deputy minister said.