Azernews.Az

By Jamila Babayeva

Despite their calls for withdrawal of Armenian forces from Azerbaijan's occupied territories, international organizations lack a strong will to put an end to the occupation, a high-ranking Azerbaijani official said.

"Unfortunately, the international community hasn't taken a strong stance on this issue in accordance with international norms and principles," Deputy Head of Azerbaijani Presidential Administration and Chief of the Foreign Relations Department Novruz Mammadov told journalists on June 11.

He said this is a clear sign of injustice in international relations.

Mammadov said that unfortunately today the international relations suffer from injustice, adding that justice is only verbally talked about between the states, international relations and in books and speeches, but in reality there is nothing.

"The most striking sign of injustice is that for the past 20 years, our territories - the Nagorno- Karabakh region and seven surrounding regions have been occupied by the Armenian armed forces," he said.

Mammadov said the international community remains silent towards a large number of violations of the rights of over one million refugees and internally displaced persons.

"I am not saying that everything is perfect in Azerbaijan. There may be some shortcomings. When something happens to someone in the street, others usually make fuss about the violation of the person's rights," he said. "Now the international organizations must talk about human rights violations, show their respect for human rights and speak for over one million people, who have been deprived of their fundamental rights over the past 20 years. Unfortunately, they don't speak about this issue and this once again shows the world's attitude towards justice."

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 have not been enforced to this day.

Peace talks, 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.

Commenting on Azerbaijan's possible joining the Eurasian Union, Mammadov said Azerbaijan has no plan in this regard.

He also commented on Armenia's accession to the Eurasian Union, stressing that Azerbaijan has no reason to express concern on this issue.

Mammadov touched upon the meeting of the Supreme Eurasian Council in Astana, on May 29, during which Armenia was urged to join the Customs Union within its internationally recognized borders.

"Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev's position on this issue was expressed by Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev at the meeting. Armenia can be a member of any organization in accordance with these requirements," Mammadov said.

He underscored that Armenia can join any organization under the same conditions in accordance with which it became a member of the UN and the World Trade Organization.

"This is our demand and it will be fulfilled," Mammadov stressed.

During the meeting of the Supreme Eurasian Council in Astana on May 29, Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev appealed to his Armenian counterpart Serzh Sargsyan asking him to comply with the UN principles on the officially fixed boundaries while joining the Customs Union.

"The presidents of the three countries received an appeal from the Azerbaijani side urging Armenia to respect a stipulation that the provisions of the WTO and Customs Union must be carried out within its borders recognized by the international law," Nazarbayev had said.

"If all trade issues are resolved, it is necessary for the Armenian president to resolve the issue of joining the Customs Union within the UN-recognized borders of Armenia," he said at the time.

He said this issue must be discussed by all parties in June.

The Eurasian Economic Union will be established on January 1, 2015 as part of the Eurasian integration on the basis of the Customs Union of Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus. It will replace the abolished Eurasian Economic Community (EurAsEC).

EAU territory will exceed 20 million square kilometers, and the population living on this territory will be around 170 million.

The tripartite agreement on the EAU's establishment was signed on May 29, 2014 at a summit in Astana, Kazakhstan.