Solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is beyond the competence of Council of Europe, Carl Bildt, Swedish Foreign Minister and Chairman to the CoE Committee of Ministers stated on the first day of PACE summer session while answering Azerbaijani MP Ganira Pashayeva’s question “why the CoE doesn’t demand from Armenia to liberate occupied Azerbaijani territories”.
“The negotiations on Nagorno-Karabakh conflict continue. We should back up meetings of the two presidents who are able to speed up solution to the conflict”, Bildt emphasized
According to him, South Caucasia is one of the concern areas for the CoE. After the three countries of South Caucasia were affiliated to the CoE, definite progress was achieved in human rights, supremacy of law and democratic institutions.
“Solution to the conflict is a key to the region’s prosperity and economic development. But solution to these conflicts is beyond our competence. I would like to mention that territorial integrity of Georgia is very important for us, but Abkhazia will undoubtedly get a wider autonomy in the future. And this can yield worse results for the region’s stability”, Karl Bildt underlined.
The conflict between the two countries of South Caucasia started in 1988 over territorial claims raised by Armenia against Azerbaijan. 20 percent of the Azerbaijan territory – Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding districts are under Armenian occupation. In 1994, the parties signed the ceasefire agreement and since then, the co-chairs to the OSCE Minsk Group – Russia, France, and the USA are holding unsuccessful peaceful negotiations.
Trend
