Baku calls on European Parliament to support Peace Platform

Azerbaijan has called on the European Parliament and other international organizations to support the Armenia-Azerbaijan Platform for Peace, said Samad Seyidov, the chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on international and inter-parliamentary relations.

Seyidov announced about this after a meeting between members of Azerbaijan`s Parliament and a delegation led by chair of the European Parliament Foreign Affairs Committee and member of the European Parliament (MEP) from Germany David McAllister Baku on May 22, Trend reported.

“This message is voiced both at the European Parliament, here, and at other international organizations,” Seyidov said when talking to reporters.

The Armenia-Azerbaijan Platform for Peace was founded in December 2016 in Baku by a group of Azerbaijani and Armenian public figures and peacekeepers. It was created to bring together representatives of civil society of the two countries for creating dialogue between Azerbaijan and Armenia, the sides to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

Seyidov noted that Azerbaijan is ready for negotiations and for establishing ties, however, the consent of the opposite side is questionable.

He further expressed confidence that open and free relations between the committees will raise the relations between the Azerbaijani Parliament and the European Parliament to a high level, and also play a big role in conveying to the European public the truth about the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

Azerbaijan and Armenia fought a lengthy war that ended with signing of a fragile ceasefire in 1994. Since the war, Armenian armed forces have occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan's territory, including NagornoKarabakh and seven surrounding regions. More than 20,000 Azerbaijanis were killed and over 1 million were displaced as a result of the large-scale hostilities.

While the OSCE Minsk Group acted as the only mediator in resolution of the conflict, the occupation of the territory of the sovereign state with its internationally recognized boundaries has been left out of due attention of the international community for years. Armenia ignores four UN Security Council resolutions on immediate withdrawal from the occupied territory of Azerbaijan, thus keeping tension high in the region.

David McAllister, after the talks at the Azerbaijani Parliament, noted that the European Parliament has always supported Azerbaijan's territorial integrity and sovereignty, Azertac reported.

"Azerbaijan is a secular country. We think that Azerbaijan can serve as a bridge between Europe, the Muslim world and Asia. We appreciate Azerbaijan's role in promoting intercultural dialogue and are well aware of the importance of the country from the geographical view point. We have to strengthen cooperation with Azerbaijan, as well as our support for the reforms carried out in the country," he said.

He further said that MEPs, who visited the Nagorno-Karabakh without Baku’s permission, don’t act on behalf of the European Parliament.

McAllister noted that the visit of European Parliament representatives to the occupied lands without Azerbaijan’s permission is their personal initiative.

“The visit wasn’t paid on behalf of the European Parliament, and they didn’t speak on behalf of this organization,” said the official, recalling that the European Parliament didn’t recognize the referendum held in Nagorno-Karabakh on February 20.

Attempts to violate the internationally recognized borders of countries using force are inadmissible, said Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov as he received the delegation, led by David McAllister in Baku on the same day.

Mammadyarov noted the importance of a single approach to the principles of territorial integrity, sovereignty and internationally recognized borders of states, as reflected in the Global Strategy on Foreign and Security Policy for the EU.

During the Baku visit, the European delegation was also received by President Ilham Aliyev. During the meeting, the parties exchanged views on a number of issues, including recent ongoing processes in Azerbaijan, the country's cooperation with the European Parliament and its prospects, the current state of the settlement of the ArmeniaAzerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, human rights and freedom of expression.

The EU, which is not directly involved in the conflict resolution, has repeatedly stated that the status quo is unacceptable and supports diplomatic settlement of the conflict within the framework of the Minsk Group.