Baku, Azerbaijan, May 8
By Ilhama Isabalayeva - Trend:
The European Union does not import anything from the occupied territories of Azerbaijan, because the EU does not recognize independence of these territories, said Vasilis Maragos, the head of the Armenian, Azerbaijani, Belarusian and Eastern Partnership Division of the European Commission's Neighborhood and Enlargement Negotiations Department.
He made the remarks at the second meeting of the 15th Session of EU-Azerbaijan Parliamentary Cooperation Committee in Baku on May 8.
Maragos said the main problem is that the names of producer countries are illegally used.
"In this regard, the EU Directorate-General sent relevant notifications to countries and informed them so that they pay more attention to these issues. I do not think that double standards are applied in this issue. The EU does not import anything from the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh, " he said.
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 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.