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MEP TENDS TO UNDERSTAND SITUATION IN NAGORNO-KARABAKH, AZERBAIJANI FM DOUBTS ON IMPARTIALITY OF HIS POSITION
Trend, E.Ostapenko
Trend
Dec 23 2010
Azerbaijan
European Parliament's rapporteur on Armenia Tomasz Poreba traveled
to Nagorno-Karabakh on his own initiative to review the situation on
the ground and preparation of a report. Azerbaijan's Foreign Ministry
insists on the need for consultation with the Azerbaijani side in
organizing visits to the occupied territory.
"As a Standing Rapporteur for Armenia I felt that getting to know
something more about the region is crucial in order to prepare an
objective and comprehensive report. The goal [of non-official visit to
Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh] was to get the feeling of the situation
on the ground," Poreba told Trend on Thursday.
MEP, the keynote speaker on Armenia Tomasz Poreba, visited
Nagorno-Karabakh during his recent trip to Armenia. There he
held meetings with the leadership of the unrecognized republic and
discussing issues concerning the resolution of the Karabakh conflict,
the situation in the region and bilateral relations, the Armenian
media outlets reported earlier.
Azerbaijan's Foreign Ministry insists on the need for consultations
with the Azerbaijani side when visiting the occupied territories.
"If Poreba would tend to make an impartial report, before his visit
to Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh, he had to discuss this issue with
official circles of Azerbaijan, to know our position and our attitude
towards his visit," Foreign Ministry spokesman Elkhan Polukhov
told Trend.
Even for a temporary visit to the occupied Azerbaijani territories,
it needs to obtain permission from the Azerbaijani side, he said.
In the light of illigal entry to the territories of Nagorno Karabakh,
the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry on Tuesday presented a protest note
to the head of the EU delegation in Azerbaijan Roland Kobia and Polish
ambassador Mikhal Labenda.
The opposite side was informed that this incident caused serious
protest of the Azerbaijani side. It was reported that it was
undesirable for foreign citizens to pay illegal visits to the
Azerbaijani occupied lands because they show disrespect to sovereignty
and territorial integrity of the Republic of Azerbaijan.
The EU mission in Baku said earlier that the response on behalf of
the European Union will be sent to the Foreign Ministry.
According to Poreba, during his visit both to Armenia and to NK, he
continuously stressed that his goal as a rapporteur is not solving
the NK conflict. Conflict resolution will only be mentioned in 1-2
points of the report, he said.
However the report would never be objective and complete without
visiting the region, Poreba supposes.
"During the visit I also repeated that the only platform to solve
the conflict is through negotiations via the OSCE Minsk Group, Poreba
said. I fully support the Madrid Principles and hope that the conflict
will be solved by good cooperation of all sides within its framework."
The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988
when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Armenian
armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan since 1992, including
the Nagorno-Karabakh region and 7 surrounding districts.
Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. The
co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group - Russia, France, and the U.S. -
are currently holding peace negotiations.
Armenia has not yet implemented the U.N. Security Council's four
resolutions on the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh and the
surrounding regions.
MEP Poreba told Trend that he would be happy to meet with the
authorities of Azerbaijan soon in order to get to know their point
of view on the whole situation.
"I am going to to prepare a very objective report, which would not
favor any side, but truth," he said.
Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry announced MEP Tomasz Poreba persona
non grata. According to Elkhan Polukhov, naming in the blacklist
is the result of actions of Poreba himself that casts doubt on the
impartiality of his position.
Poreba himself sincerely hopes that putting him on the Azerbaijan's
'Black List' will not be confirmed, and that he will have "the
opportunity to freely speak to the other side of the conflict".
From: A. Papazian
Trend, E.Ostapenko
Trend
Dec 23 2010
Azerbaijan
European Parliament's rapporteur on Armenia Tomasz Poreba traveled
to Nagorno-Karabakh on his own initiative to review the situation on
the ground and preparation of a report. Azerbaijan's Foreign Ministry
insists on the need for consultation with the Azerbaijani side in
organizing visits to the occupied territory.
"As a Standing Rapporteur for Armenia I felt that getting to know
something more about the region is crucial in order to prepare an
objective and comprehensive report. The goal [of non-official visit to
Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh] was to get the feeling of the situation
on the ground," Poreba told Trend on Thursday.
MEP, the keynote speaker on Armenia Tomasz Poreba, visited
Nagorno-Karabakh during his recent trip to Armenia. There he
held meetings with the leadership of the unrecognized republic and
discussing issues concerning the resolution of the Karabakh conflict,
the situation in the region and bilateral relations, the Armenian
media outlets reported earlier.
Azerbaijan's Foreign Ministry insists on the need for consultations
with the Azerbaijani side when visiting the occupied territories.
"If Poreba would tend to make an impartial report, before his visit
to Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh, he had to discuss this issue with
official circles of Azerbaijan, to know our position and our attitude
towards his visit," Foreign Ministry spokesman Elkhan Polukhov
told Trend.
Even for a temporary visit to the occupied Azerbaijani territories,
it needs to obtain permission from the Azerbaijani side, he said.
In the light of illigal entry to the territories of Nagorno Karabakh,
the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry on Tuesday presented a protest note
to the head of the EU delegation in Azerbaijan Roland Kobia and Polish
ambassador Mikhal Labenda.
The opposite side was informed that this incident caused serious
protest of the Azerbaijani side. It was reported that it was
undesirable for foreign citizens to pay illegal visits to the
Azerbaijani occupied lands because they show disrespect to sovereignty
and territorial integrity of the Republic of Azerbaijan.
The EU mission in Baku said earlier that the response on behalf of
the European Union will be sent to the Foreign Ministry.
According to Poreba, during his visit both to Armenia and to NK, he
continuously stressed that his goal as a rapporteur is not solving
the NK conflict. Conflict resolution will only be mentioned in 1-2
points of the report, he said.
However the report would never be objective and complete without
visiting the region, Poreba supposes.
"During the visit I also repeated that the only platform to solve
the conflict is through negotiations via the OSCE Minsk Group, Poreba
said. I fully support the Madrid Principles and hope that the conflict
will be solved by good cooperation of all sides within its framework."
The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988
when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Armenian
armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan since 1992, including
the Nagorno-Karabakh region and 7 surrounding districts.
Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. The
co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group - Russia, France, and the U.S. -
are currently holding peace negotiations.
Armenia has not yet implemented the U.N. Security Council's four
resolutions on the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh and the
surrounding regions.
MEP Poreba told Trend that he would be happy to meet with the
authorities of Azerbaijan soon in order to get to know their point
of view on the whole situation.
"I am going to to prepare a very objective report, which would not
favor any side, but truth," he said.
Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry announced MEP Tomasz Poreba persona
non grata. According to Elkhan Polukhov, naming in the blacklist
is the result of actions of Poreba himself that casts doubt on the
impartiality of his position.
Poreba himself sincerely hopes that putting him on the Azerbaijan's
'Black List' will not be confirmed, and that he will have "the
opportunity to freely speak to the other side of the conflict".
From: A. Papazian