CE SEEKS KARABAKH CRISIS TO BE SETTLED BY DIALOGUE – PACE
ITAR-TASS News Agency, Russia
July 9, 2007 Monday 01:43 PM EST
PACE President Rene van der Linden said international public should
reinforce pressure on Armenia and Azerbaijan to convince them to
settle the Karabakh conflict.
Van der Linden arrived in Baku on Monday as part of his seven-day
South Caucasian tour.
Speaking at a press conference, he said international organisations,
in particular the Council of Europe, could not take any decision for
Armenia and Azerbaijan.
At the same time, van der Linden said international organisations
could help the two countries to achieve a peaceful settlement of the
conflict. He exposed the Council of Europe’s "resolute" position on
Nagorno-Karabakh – "occupied territories should be returned. The
resolution of the conflict is possible only by talks and dialogue
and not by the use of force".
The PACE chairman stressed that by joining the Council of Europe
Armenia and Azerbaijan assumed obligations to settle the problem by
political means. In his words, being in strife Armenia has no chances
to take part in regional projects that is why the settlement of the
conflict should meet Armenia’s interests.
He told journalists that the Council of Europe did not impose sanctions
on Armenia, which occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan’s territory,
but it only put pressure on it to reach peaceful settlement.
Van der Linden provided support for the recent trip to Yerevan, Baku
and Nagorno-Karabakh by Azerbaijani and Armenian intellectuals. Such
contacts (at the level of citizens, representatives of non-governmental
organisations, students, scientists and culture figures) create
conditions for settling the conflict, the PACE president said.