Anadolu Agency (AA), Turkey
February 9, 2018 Friday
EU sees no military solution to Karabakh conflict
EU foreign policy chief says unresolved conflict between Azerbaijan,
Armenia remains 'very serious'
By Diyar Guldogan
ANKARA
The Karabakh dispute between Azerbaijan and Armenia remains a "very
serious" challenge, EU's foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said
on Friday.
"The status quo, we believe, is unsustainable and the conflict does
not have a military solution," Mogherini said at a news conference
with Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Memmedyarov, who attended 15th
Cooperation Council between the EU and Azerbaijan in Brussels,
according to a EU statement.
Mogherini said the EU "fully" supports the mediation efforts and
proposals of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe's
(OSCE) Minsk group co-chairs and confidence-building measures.
The Minsk group was formed to find a peaceful solution to the conflict
between the two countries.
Memmedyarov said the unresolved conflict with Armenia was one of the
"biggest" challenge, which Azerbaijan faces.
"We recognize that the conflict must be solved. First of all, based on
the, of course, territorial integrity of my country..," he said.
Occupied Karabakh is recognized as Azerbaijani territory by the
international community but was taken over by Armenian secessionists
as the Soviet Union broke up in the late 1980s.
Karabakh broke away from Azerbaijan in 1991 with Armenian military
support, while a peace process has yet to be implemented.
Azerbaijan 'important' partner for EU
Mogherini said Azerbaijan was an "important" partner for the EU, which
supports the country's independence, sovereignty and territorial
integrity.
She said "close" contacts were illustrated by the fact that the EU was
Azerbaijan's largest economic partner, representing nearly half of the
trade of the country -- 48.6 percent --, and the EU was also the
largest foreign direct investor in Azerbaijan.
"The Southern Gas Corridor is just one example of our strategic
relationship in the field of energy that serves the interest of both
Azerbaijan and the EU," she added.
The Southern Gas Corridor -- which plans to carry Azeri gas all the
way to Italy -- is considered critical for Europe's future energy
needs and for lowering dependence on Russian gas.
The corridor includes three major pipeline projects: the expansion of
the South Caucasus Pipeline through Azerbaijan and Georgia, the
construction of the Trans-Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP)
across Turkey and the construction of the Trans Adriatic Pipeline
(TAP) through Greece, Albania and into Italy.
Memmedyarov expects the inauguration of TANAP will be done in 2017.
