PACE can help in resolving Nagorno-Karabakh conflict

/By Azernews/

By Nazrin Gadimova

Although the Council of Europe has no direct mandate, the parliamentary diplomacy can help bring closer positions of parties to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

Pedro Agramunt, the President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), made the remark as part of a spring session held in Strasbourg on April 18.

Addressing the event, Agramunt said the recent developments on the contact line of troops between the Armenian and Azerbaijani armies have led to numerous casualties among civilians as well.

"The territorial integrity of 47 member states [of the Council of Europe] should be respected," he added. "I condemn violence. We should be cautious to the highest extent in this matter and avoid excessive criticism."

Agramunt noted that both sides should ensure the de-escalation of the situation and stop violence.

"International law provides a legal basis for a peaceful settlement of the conflict. Armenia and Azerbaijan should fulfill their commitments under the international law and achieve a peaceful settlement to the conflict," the PACE president said, adding that this issue will remain a primary topic on the agenda of the organization.

Meanwhile, the head of the Azerbaijani delegation to PACE, Samad Seyidov believes that the timing of Armenia's criminal provocation against Azerbaijan wasn't chosen accidentally: Armenia launched military operations in a time when the West and Azerbaijan are strengthening cooperation.

"We will witness even greater tragedies if we appease the aggressor," Seyidov stressed, addressing the session.

After Armenia breached the fragile ceasefire on April 2, the international community expressed concern over the situation and urged the parties to the conflict to strictly observe the truce.

The OSCE Minsk Group, which has been the sole mediator of the conflict over the past 22 years, failed to resolve the long-lasting conflict that emerged as a result of Armenian aggression on the background of the USSR’s breakup.

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 caused a brutal war in the early 1990s.

As a result of the military aggression of Armenia, over 20,000 Azerbaijanis were killed, over 4,000 are reported missing and almost 100,000 were injured, and 50,000 were disabled.

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