Azerbaijan calls on EU to help settle Karabakh conflict

ITAR-TASS, Russia
May 18 2004

BRUSSELS, May 18 (Itar-Tass) – Azerbaijani President Ilkham Aliyev
has called on the European Union to take part in the settlement of
the Karabakh conflict.

“The Minsk group of the Organization for Security and Cooperation
in Europe (OCSE) makes an important contribution to the problem’s
solution. We consider it useful to attract the European Union, the
Council of Europe and other European organizations for the conflict’s
settlement efforts to achieve tangible results,” Aliyev said at a news
briefing after the talks with the President of the European Commission,
Romano Prodi.

Prodi expressed the readiness to join the work for a settlement of the
Karabakh conflict. He pointed out that the EU was greatly concerned
about the absence of peace in the region.

The EC leader said the union was ready to invigorate the settlement
process and put forward concrete proposals. The EU is also prepared
to step up economic cooperation with Azerbaijan under what has been
termed the “ring of friends and neighbors” strategy, expanded recently
to encompass Azerbaijan.

Alyiev described the recent meeting of the Azerbaijani and Armenian
foreign ministers as “very important for pursuing a peaceful dialogue”.

“We do not want talks for the sake of talks, we do not a simulation
of talks,” he said. “We seek a meaningful discussion with Armenia of
new themes and problems that can yield concrete results in settling
the conflict in line with international law and territorial integrity
of Azerbaijan,” Aliyev said.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress