Azernews.Az

By Sara Rajabova

Member of the European Parliament calls for the end of the Armenia's policy of occupation.

"The occupation of Nagorno-Karabakh and the seven surrounding districts of Azerbaijan by the Armenian Armed Forces should be called a violation of international law, including [non-implementation of] UN Security Council resolutions adopted in 1993," MEP Vasilica Viorica Dancila said.

In response to the inquiry of European Azerbaijan Society about Nagorno-Karabakh conflict she said despite the fact that 20 years have passed since adoption of resolutions, Armenia continues its occupation of Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding regions and thus violates the international law.

Dancila urged Armenia to put an end to this situation.

She said Azerbaijani IDPs have a right to safely return to Azerbaijan's occupied territories.

"Azerbaijan participates in the European neighborhood policy and is very interested in the creation of peaceful relations with EU partner countries. Therefore, the resolution of Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is very important from the European point of view," Dancila said.

According to Dancila, the EU has always stated that the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict should be solved in a short time.

The MEP also recalled the so called "parliamentary elections" in Nagorno-Karabakh in May 2010 and so called "presidential elections" in July 2012.

"The High Representative of EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Catherine Ashton openly stated the illegitimacy of the above mentioned elections. International law doesn't recognize Nagorno-Karabakh and these elections strengthened the opinion about inadmissibility of the current status-quo. Such situation concerns the EU," Dancila stressed.

She noted that the EU Special Representative for the South Caucasus acts together with the OSCE and Minsk Group to solve the conflicts of the region peacefully, including the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and rendering help to the IDPs.

"It is important that jointly with other partners in the region, it pushes the parties to resume peace negotiations," Dancila said.

Armenia occupied over 20 percent of Azerbaijan's internationally recognized territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven adjacent regions, after laying territorial claims against its South Caucasus neighbor that caused a brutal war in the early 1990s. Long-standing efforts by US, Russian and French mediators have been largely fruitless so far.

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.