Azernews.Az

By Sara Rajabova

A rapporteur from the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe will address the parliament with a report on Armenian ‘water terror.’

PACE rapporteur Milica Markovic is currently on an official visit to Azerbaijan. During the visit, she has so far met with Azerbaijani officials and discussed issues of interest.

The purpose for the visit is to prepare a report titled “Inhabitants of frontier regions of Azerbaijan are deliberately deprived of water”.

Azerbaijan’s Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov received the delegation led by Markovic on August 25, the Azerbaijani foreign ministry reported.

Mammadyarov highlighted the importance of the issue of water security in the South Caucasus region, as well as in Azerbaijan. He noted that the use of water should be free as enshrined in international instruments.

Noting the humanitarian nature of the water, Mammadyarov said the Sarsang water reservoir is intended to ensure water for people living around the reservoir and for agriculture.

He stressed that these people were deprived of use of reservoir water as a result of Armenia's aggression and occupation against Azerbaijan.

Sarsang, Azerbaijan’s highest water reservoir, situated 726 meters above sea level, was built on Tartar River during the Soviet times in 1976. Since 1992, the Sarsang reservoir has been under the control of the Armenian Armed Forces, and as a result, frontline regions have been deprived of water.

Mammadyarov further added that the Armenian side uses the reservoir as a tool of threat. During the spring months, the Armenians open the reservoir, flooding surrounding areas, while they restrict water flow in the warmer months when it is much more needed.

Further discussing the process of settlement of the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Mammadyarov stressed that Azerbaijan is dissatisfied with the activity of the OSCE Minsk Group.

Noting that Azerbaijan would have been satisfied if the Armenian armed forces were pulled out of the occupied Azerbaijan territories, the minister added that the OSCE Minsk Group’s activity hasn’t yet yielded any results.

Mammadyarov expressed hope that after the report titled “Inhabitants of frontier regions of Azerbaijan are deliberately deprived of water” is ready, PACE members and the wider international community will have an opportunity to become familiar with the water problems that the Azerbaijani people are facing and realize the humanitarian consequences of Armenian aggression against Azerbaijan.

Markovic visited Azerbaijan for the first time in December 2014. After her visit, she was to travel to Armenia, but the aggressor country and its supporters cancelled her trip.

Elkhan Suleymanov, a member of the Azerbaijani parliamentary delegation to PACE earlier said the rapporteur's attempts to coordinate the trip to Armenia has been a failure since last October, as Armenia has yet to give its consent on this issue.

MP from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Markovic was appointed the rapporteur on the Sarsang reservoir last May.

Armenia mobilized all resources to prevent the appointment of a rapporteur and even attempted to hinder the position at the state level.

Azerbaijan and Armenia have been locked in conflict for over two decades. 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 sparked a lengthy war in the early 1990s. The UN Security Council has adopted four resolutions on Armenian withdrawal, but they have not been enforced to date.

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Sara Rajabova is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @SaraRajabova

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