Nagorno-Karabakh is an Azerbaijani region, not a disputed territory, said Ambassador Kamil Khasiyev, a representative of Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry.
He made the remarks speaking about the process of negotiation on the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict during the 15th meeting of the EU-Azerbaijan Parliamentary Cooperation Committee in Baku on May 8.
The ambassador noted that the Nagorno-Karabakh problem must be considered the same as the conflicts in South Ossetia, Abkhazia, Transnistria and Ukraine.
Vice-President of the European Parliament Heidi Hautala also addressed the meeting.
"I’m a representative of a family expelled from Karelian peninsula during the World War II. Therefore, I share your feelings in connection with the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict,” she said.
The EP vice-president expressed support for a peaceful solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
"Noting that Western Sahara is one of disputed territories, Hautala pointed to the existing problems with goods and services in occupied lands.
Vice Speaker of the Azerbaijani Parliament Ziyafat Asgarov noted that the occupation of Azerbaijani lands was discussed with the European Commission as well.
"The territorial integrity of Azerbaijan is supported by the UN Security Council resolutions and other international documents. But why are these resolutions not fulfilled? Is it my fault that I am a Muslim born in Azerbaijan? Why does South Ossetia receives a different kind of attitude? If they had approached the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict from the prism of international law in 1989, there would have been no other conflicts in the world. Today separatist movements are on the rise in Spain and other European countries. I demand justice from European democracy,” he said.
The vice speaker said that Armenians claim that Nagorno-Karabakh was given to Azerbaijan under Stalin's decision in 1924.
"Stalin did not have such a decision. The Transcaucasian Bureau simply decided to leave Nagorno-Karabakh as part of Azerbaijan,” he added.
Icmal.Az
