Warsaw Summit offers suitable platform to attract attention to Karabakh conflict

/By Azernews/

By Gunay Camal

The member-states of NATO and its partners have come together in the Warsaw Summit on July 8-9 to mull the challenges the world faces and discuss the steps to be taken to overcome the problems ranging from terrorism to cyber security.

The Armenian-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is also expected to be mulled at the Summit, where Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev will also take part in.

Fikrat Sadikhov, Azerbaijani political analyst, professor of Azerbaijan’s Western University claims that the Summit is a good platform to attract the world community’s attention to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

“The invitation of President Ilham Aliyev to the Warsaw Summit is a positive fact,” he said, adding that it testifies that NATO is interested to see active participation of a number of CIS countries in the alliance’s events on a global scale and to bring them closer to the values which are fundamental to this military-political bloc.

As for the possible discussion of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict in Warsaw, Sadikhov said: “It will give Azerbaijan an opportunity to draw the attention of the world community and world leaders to the problems of separatism, terrorism, the occupied territories and the unresolved Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.”

he Nagorno-Karabakh conflict emerged in 1988 over Armenia's territorial claims against Azerbaijan. More than 20,000 Azerbaijanis were killed as a result of large-scale hostilities and over one million Azerbaijanis are unable to return to their homes because of the invasion. Armenia continues the occupation of Azerbaijani territories, which in turn obstacles the regional security and peace.

Sadikhov is sure that it is also important from the point of view of updating the world community on the problems facing Azerbaijan. “Moreover, I am sure that this will not be just a call for serious attitude to Azerbaijan’s problems. This will be a call for active participation in the conflict settlement, putting pressure on aggressor Armenia. This appeal will remind of the fact that more than 20 percent of Azerbaijan’s territory have been occupied for more than twenty years,” he said.

The expert reminded that Azerbaijan's cooperation with NATO is not directed against any country. “The main issue for us at the Summit is to discuss the urgent Nagorno-Karabakh problem and actively strive for drawing attention of the leading countries, which will participate in the summit, to the conflict’s settlement.”

Azerbaijan is contributing to NATO’s peacekeeping operations in Afghanistan and facilities transportation of NATO’s cargo to Afghanistan.

Some 90 Azerbaijani peacekeepers serve in NATO's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan. More than a quarter of shipments for NATO in Afghanistan are carried out by Azerbaijan.