Trend News Agency, Azerbaijan
Feb. 23, 2008
Meeting Between Azerbaijani President, Newly Elected Armenian
President Before Elections in Azerbaijan in Interest of Both Sides –
EU Special Representative
23.02.08 10:41
France, Strasburg, 23 February / Trend News corr A. Maharramli / `I
think a meeting between the Azerbaijani President and the newly
elected President of Armenia before the elections in Azerbaijan is in
the interest of both sides. They should know each other better. I
hope the meeting will take place, the EU Special Representative for
the South Caucasus Peter Semneby told reporters in Strasburg.
Semneby said he is confident the election of a new President in
Armenia will give an impetus to development of the negotiations on
Nagorno-Karabakh. `I hope the sides will find a common language, and
the presidential elections in Armenian will enable intensification of
the talks. It is important to continue the negotiations during the
election processes which have already taken place in Armenia and will
take place in Azerbaijan in the second half of 2008.’
Touching upon the positive assessment of the European Parliament and
European Union regarding one-sided declaration of Kosovo’s
independence and prospects of the development of the settlement
process of the conflicts in South Caucasus, Semneby said that it
needs to follow the principles of the international law in settling
ethnic conflicts.
`As a matter of fact each conflict is unique. The existing conflicts
have more differences rather then conformity. It deals with the
conflicts in South Caucasus. The Kosovo problem has its own
specification and the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict has its own. The
issue that the conflict is difficult is beyond controversy. It is
clear that it needs to resolve it peacefully, through talks,’ he
said.
In addition, Semneby said that his visit is expected to the region in
the near future, but the date of the visit has not been confirmed
yet.