Azernews.Az

By Sara Rajabova

Azerbaijan once again demonstrated its loyalty to the peaceful settlement of the long-standing Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. The country has invited the athletes from Armenia, a country that occupied 20 percent of its internationally recognized territory, to take part in the inaugural European Games.

This gesture shows Azerbaijan’s commitment to a peaceful resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, which initially emerged as a result of neighboring Armenia's aggressive claims to Azerbaijani territory.

Over two decades, Armenia remains unpunished for crimes that it committed against Azerbaijanis, and seeks to prolong the resolution of the conflict to preserve the status quo.

This week, Baku, which is hosting the much-anticipated sporting event, Baku 2015, welcomed the Armenian athletes, alongside those from 50 other European nations.

The participation of the Armenian athletes in the Baku 2015 was expected to contribute establishing confidence for peaceful settlement of the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict.

Ali Hasanov, Azerbaijani president’s aide for public and political affairs, believes that the First European Games will play a positive role in bringing closer the peoples of Azerbaijan and Armenia.

U.S. co-chairmen of the OSCE Minsk Group, Ambassador James Warlick, who is tasked with aiding in mediating the peace talks to settle the conflict, also expressed hope that the participation of the Armenian sportsmen in the Games will help foster an atmosphere of confidence for the eventual resolution of the conflict. He also met with the athletes prior to their visit to Azerbaijan.

Azerbaijan has repeatedly voiced readiness for reaching a peace agreement and demonstrated its willingness to take concrete steps to achieve this goal.

Some 18 Armenian athletes arrived in Baku earlier this week. Armenians will take part in the boxing, wrestling, shooting, sambo and judo competitions.

Recent photos of Armenian athletes have emerged on social media depicting the smiling athletes in Baku and their enthusiasm for the start of the Games. Prior to their visit, athletes told Armenian media that they are in excellent mood and ready for Games.

Concerns for the Armenian athletes’ safety at Baku 2015 have earlier stirred controversy within Armenia.

The Azerbaijani government, however, has undertaken an obligation to ensure the athletes’ safety and is committed to impartiality on behalf of the judges.

This is not for the first time that the Armenian sportsmen will participate at a sporting event in Azerbaijan.

Earlier, some of the Armenian sportsmen that visited Azerbaijan also said their security was ensured at the highest level.

Patrick Hickey, the President of the European Olympic Committee in a recent interview stated that the Armenian athletes’ participation in Games is a great success taking into account the fact that there is deep hatred between the countries.

“We’ve done a remarkable thing in that Azerbaijan is officially at war with Armenia, and we have persuaded Armenia to send a full team to participate and we have persuaded Azerbaijan to accept them. People lose sight of it because of what is going on in Iraq, Syria and Libya. But there is the disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh between the two countries, and there’s friction on the border every day,” Hickey told The New York Times International.

Though Armenia repeatedly blames Azerbaijan for perpetuate the conflict, the gesture at the Games proves that Azerbaijan is fully ready for peaceful resolution of the conflict and that it is taking all possible measures to build confidence to resolve the dispute.

Unfortunately, some international organizations and countries turn a blind eye to this fact and prefer to enact double standards towards Azerbaijan.

Despite the fact that 20 percent of Azerbaijani territories lay under Armenian occupation for over 20 years and more than one million refugees and IDPs suffer as a result of ethnic cleansing and aggression, the international community shows indifference towards the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

However, Azerbaijan, which has been subjected to the aggression, occupation and ethnic cleansing by Armenia over the years, has never ruled out the peaceful resolution of the conflict and never left the negotiating table.

The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict emerged in 1988 over Armenia's territorial claims against Azerbaijan. More than 20,000 Azerbaijanis were killed as a result of large-scale hostilities and over one million Azerbaijanis are unable to return to their homes because of the invasion. Armenia continues the occupation of Azerbaijani territories, which in turn obstacles the regional security and peace.