Mogherini calls for Karabakh talks without preconditions

By Rashid Shirinov

The EU calls on all parties within the Nagorno-Karabakh settlement to fully participate in the negotiations under the auspices of the Minsk Group co-chairs, said the EU diplomatic service after the meeting of the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini with the Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.

At the meeting, Mogherini reaffirmed the support for the peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

“In this context, it is extremely important that the parties fully participate in the negotiations without preconditions under the auspices of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs,” the statement reads.

It is noteworthy that at the 15th meeting of the EU-Azerbaijan Cooperation Council in February this year in Brussels, Mogherini noted that the EU fully supports the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Azerbaijan.

Armenia captured Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding regions from Azerbaijan in a war that followed the Soviet breakup in 1991. More than 20,000 Azerbaijanis were killed and nearly 1 million were displaced as a result of the war.

Large-scale hostilities ended with a Russia-brokered ceasefire in 1994 but Armenia continued the occupation in defiance of four UN Security Council resolutions calling for immediate and unconditional withdrawal.

Unfortunately, peace talks mediated by Russia, France and the U.S. within the OSCE Minsk Group have produced no tangible results so far due to Armenia's unconstructive position on the issue.