TODAY.AZ / Politics

Bundestag member urges ending Nagorno-Karabakh's annexation

19 June 2015 [14:03] - TODAY.AZ

/By AzerNews/

By Sara Rajabova

A German MP has called on Armenia to immediately end the annexation of the Nagorno-Karabakh region.

Tobias Zech, a member of the Christian Democratic Union and Christian Social Union parties in Germany, the member of South Caucasus parliamentary group and the German delegation to PACE, stressed in an interview to the TV Berlin program Aus dem Bundestag (From Parliament) the importance of keeping the resolution of the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict on the agenda.

Noting the importance of the South Caucasus region for European Union and Germany, Zech said the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, which resulted in the occupation of 20 percent of Azerbaijan’s territory by Armenian armed forces, was disappearing from public view.

“It is a conflict that is taking place in our direct vicinity and it has been smoldering for the past twenty years – escalating and de-escalating, again and again. Thankfully, there is currently no open conflict or condition of war, but the conflict smolders on and the occupation of foreign territory continues,” Zech said.

He recalled that following the occupation of Azerbaijani territory, the Nagorno-Karabakh region by Armenia, approximately one million Azerbaijani refugees and IDPs fled their homes in both Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh, noting Azerbaijan now has one of the highest proportions of refugees in its population.

Zech called on the European Union to demonstrate greater willingness of the EU towards managing this conflict peacefully and finding a solution, adding that something is lacking in this respect.

He considered the conflict not be solely one between the two countries in the South Caucasus, but one with international involvement. “Direct negotiations between Armenia and Azerbaijan without the intervention of large neighboring states would probably be more productive, but they are currently not feasible.”

Zech believes that withdrawal of Armenian troops from Nagorno-Karabakh is the first step towards a resolution of the conflict.

“The situation is unacceptable to us and we do not recognize Armenia’s occupation of Nagorno-Karabakh. We, in Germany, do not recognize the interim government in Nagorno-Karabakh, nor do we recognize the ‘elections’ in Nagorno-Karabakh. Our position is that we will not recognize the annexation. Of course, we emphasize that this conflict will be resolved,” the MP said.

Zech further added that his position on the work by international organizations is to achieve a peaceful end to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. He confessed that international organizations did not have sufficient personnel or equipment to conduct effective monitoring of the conflict zone.

The MP noted that the OSCE monitoring group of six people was not enough to conduct monitoring at the contact line between the two armies.

“If the OSCE is serious, they need to increase personnel and equipment,” Zech said.

He also recalled the four resolutions adopted by the United Nations Security Council concerning the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

The UN Security Council has passed four resolutions on Armenia’s withdrawal from Azerbaijani territory, but they have not been enforced to this day.

“We not only voted, we also supported these resolutions. Yes, conflicts like Nagorno-Karabakh cannot be resolved overnight, we know of other conflicts that have been smoldering for more than thirty or forty years. We must now take the next step and try to find a sustainable solution that, above all, allows the refugees from Nagorno-Karabakh to return to their homeland,” he said.

Zech further stresses that the main focus of European diplomacy should be on freeing Azerbaijan’s occupied lands from Armenia’s armed forces.

He blamed Armenia for impeding the resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

“The first demand is that the Armenian troops must withdraw from Nagorno-Karabakh before we can negotiate peace and before we can find a sustainable solution. But Armenia says that they will only withdraw troops when all points are settled. Thus, we have a chicken and egg scenario. I believe that we have an annexation that is in violation of international law, which must be resolved before all other points can be discussed,” Zech said.

URL: http://www.today.az/news/politics/141562.html

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