Azernews.Az

By Sara Rajabova

The international community has stated its clear-cut stance with the UN Security Council resolutions in 1993, a member of the European Parliament has said regarding the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

Victor Bostinaru, who is represented in the Committee for Regional Development and the Committee on Petitions, said while answering questions of the European Azerbaijan Society (TEAS) that the occupation of Azerbaijani territories by the Armenian armed forces must end and indeed without pre-conditions. He said this position is binding according to international law and deserves full support.

"Azerbaijan is a country with around 9 million population, of whom one million are refugees. Also, one fifth of the country's territory is occupied. These are alarming numbers that the broad public may not be aware of. The way to a solution for these enormous burdens can only happen through the restoration of the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan," Bostinaru said.

According to the MEP, the stagnation in peace talks is actually a big problem, as the conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh and the other occupied territories has been unresolved for over 20 years.

"Also, the South Caucasus is a very important neighbouring region for Europe, both in political and in economic terms. The conflict between Georgia and Russia in 2008 has shown how fast the security situation can change. Hence, it is of vital interest for Europe that the peace negotiations finally come to a useful result," the European Parliament member said.

The lawmaker said that Azerbaijan is not only important for Europe as a partner in energy issues.

"There is also a close cooperation in security policy, for example, in fighting terrorism. Also, in the areas of culture and education the contacts are becoming steadily deeper. From this point of view it should be self-evident that Azerbaijan is entitled to take its legitimate rights," Bostinaru said.

The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict emerged in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Since a lengthy war in the early 1990s that displaced over one million Azerbaijanis, Armenian armed forces have occupied over 20 percent of Azerbaijan's internationally recognized territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven adjacent regions. The UN Security Council's four resolutions on Armenian withdrawal from the Azerbaijani territory have not been enforced to this day.

Peace talks aimed at resolving the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, mediated by Russia, France and the U.S. through the OSCE Minsk Group, are underway on the basis of a peace outline proposed by the Minsk Group co-chairs and dubbed the Madrid Principles. The negotiations have been largely fruitless so far.