EU REP URGES ARMENIA TO PULL OUT OF OCCUPIED AZERI TERRITORIES
Noyan Tapan news agency
12 May 04
Yerevan, 12 May: “I believe that Armenia should be ready for the
partial withdrawal of its troops from the occupied territories, having
received something instead of course,” the European Parliament’s
special rapporteur on the South Caucasus, Per Gahrton, said on 12 May
during discussions on the EU’s enlargement in Yerevan. He said that
there had been numerous proposals for the settlement of the Karabakh
problem, however, no concrete moves have been taken to this end yet.
Gahrton advised the Armenian side to refrain from Armenizing the
occupied territories. “I know that Lacin (district in western
Azerbaijan) is not Armenia. But when I was there, I saw that
everything was written in Armenian letters. It is quite clear that
Armenization is under way. International law bans this and it is
unfavourable for the future,” Gahrton said.
In reply to Gahrton’s statement, Armenian Deputy Speaker Tigran
Torosyan said that the Republic of Armenia has no troops in Nagornyy
Karabakh: “Yes, these are Armenian forces, but they belong to Nagornyy
Karabakh, not to Armenia”.
Torosyan also said that when there were no troops in Nagornyy Karabakh,
Azerbaijanis attacked and bombed it every day. These forces are there
for self-defence. According to Torosyan, control over the territories
around Nagornyy Karabakh is of double importance because it has helped
establish the truce along with self-defence.