Settling Nagorno-Karabakh conflict top priority for EU: Official
By Sara Rajabova
Solving the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict remains one of the top priorities of the EU's foreign policy.
Stefan Fule, the European Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighborhood Policy, made the remarks in an interview with the 'The Business Year - Azerbaijan 2014' magazine.
"The EU is fully committed to supporting the settlement process of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict," Fule 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, the Armenian armed forces have occupied over 20 percent of Azerbaijan's internationally recognized territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven adjacent regions.
Only a peaceful, negotiated settlement can allow the entire region to move toward a secure and prosperous future and help unleash the full potential of the South Caucasus region as a gateway between Europe and Asia, Fule noted.
He also said the EU is concerned about the lack of tangible progress in settling the conflict.
"In this context, we welcomed the meeting of the Azerbaijani and Armenian Presidents in Vienna on November 19, 2013, and commended the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs for their efforts in facilitating the resumption of top level meetings," Fule underscored.
He stressed that the EU has called upon Azerbaijan and Armenia to step up their efforts toward an agreement on the Madrid Principles as a basis for peace, in accordance with the commitments undertaken by the Presidents within the OSCE Minsk Group.
"Concerned about the escalation of tensions due to confrontational rhetorics and serious incidents along the line of contact and international border between the two countries, the EU has urged both sides to respect the ceasefire agreement, fulfill their commitments made in the framework of the Minsk Group, and refrain from actions and statements that could heighten tension and undermine the peace process," Fule added.
He also said Azerbaijan's engagement with the EU is based on the European Neighborhood Policy and the Eastern Partnership, adding that the current legal framework for bilateral relations is the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement, signed in 1999.