BAKU, Azerbaijan, Aug.1

Trend:

Armenia obstructs negotiation process for peaceful settlement of Nagorno-Karabakh conflict by its recent provocative actions, Chairman of Azerbaijan-Bulgaria Friendship Group at the Bulgarian Parliament of the 44th convocation Hamid Hamid said.

Hamid made the remark in his letter addressed to Head of Azerbaijan-Bulgaria Inter-Parliamentary Working Group at Azerbaijan’s Parliament Rauf Aliyev, Trend reports on August 1.

The chairman stressed that recently the international community has witnessed the growth of tension between Armenia and Azerbaijan, this time on the border between the countries in the direction of Azerbaijan’s Tovuz district, strongly condemning the military provocation committed by the Armenian armed forces.

"The latest provocative actions of Armenia should be regarded as a threat to the projects of the East-West Transport Corridor and the Southern Gas Corridor being implemented by Azerbaijan and its European partners. These projects play an exceptional role in strengthening the energy security of Europe, including Bulgaria. This provocation is aimed to create a threat to energy security and economic benefits not only of the region, but of the whole Europe," he said.

Hamid, guided by the fundamental norms and principles of international law, four UN Security Council resolutions (822, 853, 874 and 884) and the Joint Declaration on the Strategic Partnership between Azerbaijan and Bulgaria from 2015, expressed full supports of the territorial integrity, sovereignty and inviolability of the internationally recognized borders of Azerbaijan, which is a reliable member of the UN, OSCE, European Council, as well as a respected partner of the EU and NATO.

"I would also like to remind the results related to the policy of the EU Foreign Ministers Council on the "Eastern Partnership" after 2020, which also enshrines the principle of "common obligations to create a space of universal democracy, prosperity and stability". This provides for general obligations in connection with the rules based on international law, in particular, territorial integrity, independence and sovereignty, as enshrined in the Helsinki Final Act and the OSCE Charter of Paris," the MP said.

At the same time, he reminded that the four resolutions of the UN Security Council require the immediate, complete and unconditional withdrawal of the Armenian armed forces from the occupied territories of Azerbaijan.

The European parliamentarian in his letter stressed that the international community must condemn in the harshest form the occupation policy of Armenia against Azerbaijan and the provocative actions committed by it on the border.

He noted that in order to prevent the transformation of the incident into a hotbed of war, the international community should soon intervene.

"I express my solidarity with Azerbaijan, looking forward to the restoration of the country's territorial integrity within the internationally recognized borders. In addition, I express my condolences to the families of those killed during the incident, and wish the wounded a speedy recovery," Hamid concluded.