Working group makes a mockery of the European Parliament, states The European Azerbaijan Society

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The European Azerbaijan Society

Oct 17, 2014, 17:00 ET


Brussels, Belgium (PRWEB UK) 17 October 2014 -- The European Azerbaijan Society (TEAS) has unequivocally condemned the establishment of an unofficial European Parliament working group focusing on the unrecognised ‘Nagorno-Karabakh Republic’. It is claimed this will aim to propagate links between the regime and the EU, according to a report on the Armenpress website. (1)

Such endorsement of the regime, which is unrecognised by any country, (2) flouts the basic tenets of the European Parliament, which aims to bring together the common values of the peoples of Europe and uphold international law. To date, four UN Security Council resolutions (3), and numerous other resolutions from the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) (4) and the Organisation of Islamic Co-operation (OIC) (5) have been passed against the Armenian occupation of around 20 per cent of Azerbaijani territory, supported by previous statements made by the EU’s High Representative. The occupation has displaced an estimated 875,000 Azerbaijanis from their homelands, and they remain the ongoing victims of the Armenian–Azerbaijani conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh. (6)

According to TEAS, the establishment of this unofficial group again demonstrates the obstructive role of Armenia in achieving a negotiated resolution to the conflict. It also acts as a provocation to Azerbaijan to step away from the fruitless negotiations that have been taking place under the auspices of the OSCE Minsk Group for 20 years.

Lionel Zetter, Director, TEAS, wrote to Mr Martin Schulz, President of the European Parliament and all Chairs of the Groups in European Parliament expressing his “deep disappointment.” He said: “The establishment of this unofficial group is not in accordance with international law, and shows disrespect to the national sovereignty of an important partner of the EU, which is also a member of the UN Security Council and is currently Chair of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe.”

TEAS urges all MEPs and those they represent to make their voices known and condemn the establishment of such a group in the strongest possible terms.

References:
1. European Parliament forms Karabakh Working Group (Armenpress 16.10.14)

2. The Unrecognized Nation of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic Faces an Uncertain Future (Vice News 13.5.14)

3. 1993 UN Security Council Resolutions on Nagorno-Karabakh (US State Dept. Archive)

4. PACE Resolution 1416 on Nagorno-Karabakh (PACE 25.1.05)

5. OIC Resolution No. 10/11-P (IS). On the aggression of the Republic of Armenia against the Republic of Azerbaijan (Khandkendi website 14.3.08)

6. The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict (TEAS website, 2010)

Neil Watson, The European Azerbaijan Society, http://www.teas.eu, +44 2078081918, [email protected]