Azerbaijan, Baku, Dec. 22 /Trend, E.Ostapenko/
The head of the EU delegation in Azerbaijan Roland Kobia expressed regret on behalf of the EU with regards to the problem caused by MEP's illegal visit to separatist Nagorno-Karabakh.
MEP, the keynote speaker on Armenia Tomasz Poręba, visited Nagorno-Karabakh during his trip to Armenia which started on Sunday. There he was holding 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.
"We know that the missions that are organized in Nagorno-Karabakh have to be organized with Azerbaijan as it was in the case of the OSCE fact-finding mission [to the occupied teritories] in November," ambassador told Trend in a telephone conversation.
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.
Kobia said the EU delegation to Azerbaijan is going to send the official reply to the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry later this day, so that it will be delivered to the Ministry early tomorrow morning.
The ambassador said the EU continues to fully support the work of the OSCE Minsk Group and their efforts to find a peaceful solution to the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan on Nagorno-Karabakh. "Minsk Group for us remains to be the only platform for internationally supported negotiation to settle the conflict," said Kobia.
Nagorno Karabakh conflict 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.
Peace negotiations have been lasting since the ceasefire agreement was achieved by the conflict parties in 1994. The OSCE Minsk Group under the co-chairmanship of Russia, France, and the US are currently holding the peace talks. The UN Security Council has adopted four resolutions on the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding regions. However these resolutions have not yet been implemented by Armenia.
According to Kobia, in the system of the European Union the European Parliament is a totally independent institution. European external services of Lady Ashton do not have any authority over the European Parliament, neither the European Parliament light in its resolutions, nor the reports, nor the individual actions of the MEPs.
"We have not been informed in advance of this visit. There were no consultations with the services of Mrs. Ashton on the objective, the program, the contacts during this visit. We have learned about that visit just as everyone through Armenian media," said Kobia.
The ambassador expressed hope that the ongoing negotiations on the Association agreement between the EU and Azerbaijan will be helpful in avoiding this kind of events in future.
"Association agreement will address the issue of respect of international law, including the principles of territorial integrity, the inviolability of borders, the sovereignty and the independence as established in the UN Charter and the OSCE Helsinki Final Act," said Kobia.