Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov has urged the European Parliament and EU to avoid double standards on the Karabakh conflict.
He made the remarks in an address to a conference, “EU-Azerbaijan: New Horizons for the Partnership”, organized by the European People's Party Group in the European Parliament.
Focusing on the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh, Elmar Mammadyarov called on the EU and European Parliament to take a position based on international norms and principles on the settlement of the conflict and said that double standards were inadmissible.
The international norms and principles most often cited by Azerbaijan concerning the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict are the inviolability of established borders and maintenance of territorial integrity.
Mammadyarov thanked the EU for what he described as its fair position expressed in a resolution adopted in 2010, which calls for the withdrawal of occupying forces from Azerbaijani territory and the return of refugees and displaced persons to their homes. He hoped that this would not be the last resolution.
Elsewhere in his speech, the foreign minister talked about Azerbaijan's important role in the South Caucasus region and international arena, reforms and the economic development of the country, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry told Gun.Az.
Describing relations with the EU as a foreign policy priority, he said it was important to develop strategic partnership relations.
The minister also noted the significance of forming communications among people and said that it was important to that end to start talks on visa facilitation and readmission between Azerbaijan and the EU.
The visa facilitation talks are scheduled to start in Baku on 1 and 2 March.
On the Azerbaijani side, MPs Samad Seyidov, Asaf Hajiyev and Ali Huseynli also addressed the conference, which was held in Brussels on 9 February.
The conference was opened by Jerzy Buzek, former president of the European Parliament, while other speakers included Elmar Brok, chairman of the European Parliament Committee on Foreign Affairs, and Philippe Lefort, the EU special representative on conflicts in the South Caucasus and Georgia.
While in Brussels, Elmar Mammadyarov had a business breakfast with Wilfried Martens, president of the European People's Party, and bilateral meetings with Elmar Brok and Polish MEP Jacek Protasiewicz.
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