Azernews.Az

By Sara Rajabova

The Azerbaijani and Armenian delegations are expected to meet at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE).

The remarks were made by PACE President Jean-Claude Mignon at a press conference organized as part of the organization's summer session, while answering a question about the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

"We will discuss the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict on June 26 with the Azerbaijani and Armenian delegations," he said. "There is real willingness to achieve progress on the issue."

Mignon said it is necessary to take advantage of Armenia's chairmanship in the CoE Committee of Ministers, which will further be presided by Austria and then Azerbaijan.

Mignon also clarified his objections to the resumption of the activity of the PACE subcommittee on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

"We touched on the Nagorno-Karabakh issue at the meeting of the PACE Bureau and the Standing Committee in Yerevan," he said. "These discussions were continuation of my South Caucasus visit. I had interesting meetings in these countries. I also had an interesting meeting with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov in Baku."

Mignon believes that the only organization authorized to deal with the conflict is the OSCE Minsk Group and any initiative in this regard could reduce the significance of the Minsk Group's work.

Earlier, during his visit to Azerbaijan, the PACE chief expressed an expectation that a solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict could be reached this year. He said that Azerbaijan and Armenia's chairing the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe in 2013 would create a good chance for both countries to find a solution to the conflict.

Besides, in late May, during a meeting in Yerevan, the PACE Standing Committee signed a declaration saying the search for a peaceful solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is the commitment undertaken by Armenia and Azerbaijan upon their accession to the Council of Europe.

Mignon said it is clear that Azerbaijan is willing to accept the Madrid Principles peace outline prepared and put forward by the OSCE Minsk Group.

According to Mignon, the Nagorno-Karabakh issue will not be discussed in PACE as a current issue.

"It will be necessary to specify the format. But we want to invite the co-chairmen of the Minsk Group to PACE in the near future and to listen to them. More precise information can be obtained about the Minsk Group's work on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. We proceed from the Madrid Principles in this issue," he added.

PACE on June 24 started its summer session, which will last till June 28. The Azerbaijani and Armenian delegations plan to hold a meeting on the sidelines of the session. A group of parliament members led by the head of the Azerbaijani delegation to PACE, chairman of the international relations committee of Azerbaijan's parliament, Samad Seyidov, will attend the session. The delegation includes MPs Elkhan Suleymanov, Sevinj Fataliyeva, Ganira Pashayeva, Rafael Huseynov, Sabir Hajiyev, Rovshan Rzayev, Sahiba Gafarova, Fazil Mustafa and Aydin Abbasov.

The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict emerged in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against the neighboring country. Since a lengthy war between the two South Caucasus countries that displaced over a million Azerbaijanis and ended with the signing of a precarious cease-fire in 1994, Armenian armed forces have occupied over 20 percent of Azerbaijan's internationally recognized territory, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts. Armenia has not yet implemented the U.N. Security Council's four resolutions on a pullout from the occupied territories.

Peace talks brokered by OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs representing the United States, Russia and France have been largely fruitless so far.

The negotiations are underway on the basis of the peace outline dubbed the Madrid Principles, also known as Basic Principles. 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.