EU concerned over Azerbaijan belligerent calls

24.07.2006 16:50

YEREVAN (YERKIR) – Ambassador Peter Semneby, the European Union’s
special representative in the South Caucasus, said on Monday that if
Azerbaijan continues to make belligerent calls then the EU should
make the sides realize that the war could have negative impact on
the further developments of the county.

He made the statement at the joint news conference with Armenian
Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanian.

"Any military solution concerns us," Semneby said in an answer to a
question what sanctions could be used against a country calling for
resuming the war. "I cant’s talk of sanctions but the EU can convince
the sides to stay away from militant calls because it is not in their
interest. And not only in political terms but also economic as the
countries of the region are building free-market economies and a war
would make investors to reconsider their decisions of investing in
the region."

FM Oskanian said he and the European diplomat had discussed four
issues: Armenia-EU joint actions, the Nagarno-Karabakh conflict,
the relations between Armenia and its neighbors, and the upcoming
parliamentary election in Armenia.

Semneby pointed out that the joint EU-Armenia projects are directly
connected with holding the forthcoming election in line with the
European standards which could have a vital consequence for the
further relations between the EU and Armenia.

When asked whether the OSCE Minsk Group American co-chair, Mathew
Bryza, would produce new proposals on the conflict settlement during
his visit to the region, Oskanian said the proposals don’t come out
of the air, they are born at the negotiations table. He added he
hoped Bryza could convince Azerbaijan to resume talks.