Albania calls for withdrawal of Armenian troops from Azerbaijani territories
By Sara Rajabova
Albanian Foreign Minister Ditmir Bushati called Armenia to recognize Azerbaijan`s territorial integrity, calling for a peaceful resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict according to international law and Azerbaijan`s territorial integrity.
Replying to a question of the European Azerbaijan Society (TEAS) concerning the Albanian government's approach to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Bushati called on Armenia to withdraw its armed forces from the occupied territories, Azertag news agency said.
Bushati said that Albania is of the same opinion as the international community that Nagorno-Karabakh is an integral part of Azerbaijan.
"This is a position based on international law and, as such, we subscribe to it in full," Bushati said.
He said that as one of the principles of the UN Charter, territorial integrity is a cornerstone of today`s international legal order.
Following both the spirit and the letter of the Charter, Albania is strongly convinced that the only way to achieve a permanent solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is through peaceful and negotiated means and in accordance with international law, Bushati said.
"Together with our partners and friends in the OSCE and the European Union, we are committed to working towards a quick resolution of this conflict. We are also keenly aware of how a protraction of the conflict will affect the lives of the refugees and IDPs. This makes the necessity of a swift resolution even more prominent, and any steps that hamper the efforts of the parties towards a peaceful solution deserve our condemnation," the minister said.
Bushati emphasized that Albania's great attention to the South Caucasus is largely due to the strategic importance of the region.
According to him, the region is playing an increasingly important role in meeting Europe`s energy needs, and the new Trans-Adriatic Pipeline will make Albania a future user of Caspian gas.
"Not only that, but this growing significance of the South Caucasus, thanks in no small measure to its pivotal role in the diversification of Europe`s energy supply, is bound to have an effect on the security and stability of other regions, like the Balkans. That is why we consider that a quick resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, in accordance with international law, is in the interest of all those involved," Bushati said.
Saying that the process of resolving this conflict has stopped despite several rounds of negotiations in the context of the OSCE Minsk Group, he called for greater involvement from European countries.
He expressed his belief that countries will be able to prosper only if they seriously address the demands of the international community like the UN.
"In the case of Nagorno-Karabakh, the UN Security Council has adopted several resolutions in which it has demanded the withdrawal of foreign troops," Bushati said.
He said that Albania fully supports this demand and calls for the immediate withdrawal of Armenian military forces from Nagorno-Karabakh and the seven surrounding regions.
Armenia captured Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding districts from Azerbaijan in the war that followed the Soviet breakup in 1991. As the result of the war more than 20,000 Azerbaijanis were killed and nearly 1 million were displaced.
Large-scale hostilities between the two countries came to an end with a Russia-brokered ceasefire in 1994, but Armenia has continued the occupation of those regions in defiance of the UN Security Council resolutions that call for immediate and unconditional withdrawal.
Peace talks mediated by Russia, France and the US have produced no results so far.