EUROPEAN MP ADMITS TO ERROR IN PRESENTING GARABAGH AS ARMENIAN TERRITORY

Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
March 7 2006

Baku, March 6, AssA-Irada
A European MP has admitted to making a mistake in presenting Upper
Garabagh not as Azerbaijani but Armenian territory.

A map of the South Caucasus region citing the false information has
been included in the report of the European Parliament’s Foreign
Affairs Committee covering “frozen conflicts”.

The legislative body has also lately passed a resolution concerning
the alleged desecration of Armenian graves in Azerbaijan’s exclave
of Nakhchivan, which angered Azeri officials.

The map uploaded to the European Parliament’s website on February 22
was removed on Monday.

The rapporteur Dick Surander, who prepared the report, admitted full
responsibility for the mistake, saying he was pressed for time and it
was the only map he could find. “Others are not to blame for this,”
he told the Baku-based ANS TV channel.

Surander said it would be wrong to interpret the incident as
recognition of Upper Garabagh “as an independent state”, adding that
the map would never be placed on the web-page again.

The Foreign Ministry spokesman Tahir Taghizada said the Azeri embassy
in Belgium was instructed last week to look into the issue.