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Expert explains approach of double standards towards Azerbaijan

Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict Materials 23 February 2015 17:34 (UTC +04:00)
West has a double standards approach towards the conflicts in the post-Soviet space.
Expert explains approach of double standards towards Azerbaijan

Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb.23

By Elena Kosolapova - Trend:

The West has a double standards approach towards the conflicts in the post-Soviet space, Amanda Paul, a policy analyst at the European Policy Centre in Brussels told Trend.

She said this is clearly seen in the assessments and actions of the West with respect to the conflict in Ukraine and the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

The two countries signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group, Russia, France and the US are currently holding peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented the UN Security Council's four resolutions on the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding regions.

Paul said that following Russia's annexation of Crimea, the West immediately and repeatedly underlined the importance of international law, territorial integrity and respecting internationally recognized borders.

"Furthermore, the West placed sanctions and made it clear they would only be lifted when Crimea was liberated," she said. "In fact, respect for the territorial integrity of states has become one of the most widely accepted rules of international behavior over the past several decades."

The expert added that Azerbaijan, which as its partners in the West, supported Ukraine's territorial integrity, expected that events in Ukraine would have an impact on the its own conflict with Armenia over Nagorno-Karabakh and that the West should have the same approach towards all the conflicts in the former soviet space.

"Unfortunately this is not the case."

The West has always had what it defines as a "balanced approach", towards Armenia and Azerbaijan, considering this is the best approach towards achieving a negotiated solution to the conflict, Paul said, adding that there is unlikely to be a chance of this approach.

Moreover, such double standards approach has already had a negative impact on Azerbaijan's relations with EU and US, according to the expert.

Edited by SI

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Follow the author on Twitter: @E_Kosolapova

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