RULING PARTY: EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT’S RESOLUTION IS ANOTHER VICTORY OF AZERBAIJANI DIPLOMACY
Trend
April 23 2012
Azerbaijan
The resolution adopted by the European Parliament, is another victory
of Azerbaijani diplomacy, executive secretary of the Azerbaijani
ruling party, MP Mubariz Gurbanli told the official website of the
ruling “New Azerbaijan” Party today.
The negotiations are underway to elect Azerbaijan and Armenia as EU
associate members, he said.
“The provisions of this resolution on the withdrawal of the Armenian
armed forces from the occupied territories, including the prohibition
and restrictions on Armenian troops’ entry to the Nagorno-Karabakh amid
these negotiations are really serious ideological and political blow
to Armenia,” he said. “This is the defeat of the Armenian diplomacy.”
Armenian media outlets are trying to draw a veil over this issue,
but the fact remains, he said.
He added that the Azerbaijani diplomacy has once again publicly
demonstrated superiority over Armenia by this document adopted by
the European Parliament.
MP added that this event stresses that Azerbaijan’s fair position
was again supported.
“I think that this event is a logical result of the policy pursued
by President Aliyev,” he added. “In general, Azerbaijan continues
demonstrating superiority over Armenia in all spheres. Our superiority
in the diplomatic sphere is clearly observed in these decisions.”
The EU’s active joining the process of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict
settlement can positively affect the resolution of the conflict,
he added.
“The organization must take the initiative,” he said. “It is necessary
for the UN Security Council to take the appropriate actions to bring
the EU to the process.”
He recalled that Azerbaijan will preside over the UN Security Council
in May.
“The membership in this organization as a whole is Azerbaijan’s major
achievement,” he said. “As Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said, it
will be once again demonstrated during the presidency that Azerbaijan
protects justice and international law.”
This will be a great event in the Azerbaijani history, he added.
Azerbaijan’s activity in the UN Security Council as a whole will have
a positive impact on the Nagorno-Karabakh issue.
The European Parliament adopted a resolution on EU negotiations on
an association agreement with Azerbaijan and Armenia which reflects
the respect for Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity. The resolution
was adopted at a session of the European Parliament in Strasbourg.
It is noted that an associative agreement with Azerbaijan and
Armenia will not be signed within the EU Eastern Partnership until the
Azerbaijani occupied territories are liberated and pass to Azerbaijan’s
control and refugees return to their native land.
The document also states that the occupation of the territory of
one state by another is a violation of international principles and
is contrary to the fundamental principles of the EU Neighbourhood
Policy and harms Eastern Partnership programme. It also indicated the
need to investigate the facts on illegal settlements in Azerbaijan’s
occupied territories.
The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988
when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Armenian
armed forces have occupied 20 per cent of Azerbaijan since 1992,
including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.
Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. The
co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group – Russia, France, and the U.S. –
are currently holding the peace negotiations.
Armenia has not yet implemented the U.N. Security Council’s four
resolutions on the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh and the
surrounding regions.
The Eastern Partnership Program is a Polish-Swedish initiative under
the EU Neighbourhood Policy aimed at improving EU relations with six
former Soviet countries Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova, Belarus, Ukraine
and Armenia. The programme envisages the allocation of 600 million
euro to these countries until 2013 to strengthen state institutions,
control borders and help small companies.