Azerbaijan’s Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov said that “one sided” declarations by certain European Union officials are endangering the EU’s mediation efforts for a peace treaty between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
“One-sided announcements by certain EU leaders is endangering the EU’s role in this process,” Bayramov, who did not mention names, told the EU’s foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell during a meeting in Brussels.
Last week, Borrell faulted Azerbaijan for attempting to resolve the Artsakh conflict through the use of force and urged Baku to guarantee the rights of the Armenians of Artsakh to return to their homes.
Addressing the EU-NGO Forum in Brussels, Borrell lamented the current world order of what he called “the return of brutal power politics.”
“More and more conflicts are being solved by the use of force,” Borrell emphasized last week. “Something that was supposed to be forbidden. Not the use of force to solve conflicts, but what I see is that there are more and more conflicts [are] being solved by force.”
“Look for example at what has happened in Azerbaijan and Armenia. A long-frozen conflict that suddenly has been – I would not say solved – but decisively determined by a military intervention that, in one week, made 150,000 people move. In one week. Like this. 150,000 people had to abandon their houses and run. And the international community regretted [it], expressed concern, sent humanitarian support, but it happened [with] the use of force,” Borrell added.
This caused a stern response from Azerbaijan’s foreign ministry, which accused the EU’s top diplomat of favoritism toward Armenians.
At the same time, during his meeting with Borrell, Bayramov said that Baku highly appreciates European Council President Charles Michel’s role in mediating a peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
Normalization of relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan based on mutual respect for each other’s territorial integrity and sovereignty is the only course for stability and peace in the South Caucasus, Bayrmov emphasized during his meeting with Borrell.
