The EU special envoy for the South Caucasus has blamed lack of trust for the failure to resolve the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict over Karabakh.
Philippe Lefort made the remarks at a press conference on Thursday, wrapping up his visit to Baku, APA reported.
"The main reason for the unresolved Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is the lack of mutual trust and, maybe, mutual fear," Lefort said.
He said that the EU supported the efforts of the OSCE Minsk Group, the international body mediating a solution to the Karabakh conflict.
“We cooperate with the Minsk Group. We are ready to share Europe’s experience in reconstruction at the post-conflict stage."
The EU special representative hoped that the sides to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict would compromise and resolve the problem.
“I said the same in Yerevan,” he told the press conference.
During his latest visit to Baku, Philippe Lefort met Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov, MPs and representatives of civil society.
His remarks echo comments made earlier this week by the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs, following their latest visit to the region.
"The co-chairs stressed to the sides the need to improve significantly the atmosphere of negotiations, increase trust and strengthen implementation of the ceasefire to allow further progress toward reaching a peaceful settlement," they said in a statement.
The conflict began in 1988 when Armenia made claims on the Azerbaijani territory of Karabakh. In a bitter war Armenian armed forces occupied a swathe of Azerbaijani land, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts. Despite a ceasefire in 1994, no long-term peace agreement has been reached.
The nub of the conflict remains unresolved - the competing claims of territorial integrity, which Azerbaijan insists takes precedence in the case of Karabakh, and self-determination, which Armenia wants to see for the Armenians of Karabakh.
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