Saturday, May 23 2015 11:31

Azerbaijan has been again left isolated for this time 28 countries have favoured the insertion of wordings on support to the mediation efforts by the co-chairs of the Minsk Group into the final declaration of the "Eastern Partnership" Summit in Riga, Edward Nalbandyan, the minister of Foreign Affairs RA, told "Azatutyun" radio station when commenting on Azerbaijan's walkout during the adoption of the declaration. 

 

The minister reminded that the statements made in L`Aiguille, Dauville, Muskoka, Los Cabos and Enniskillen since 2009 were point at issue. "We have repeatedly stated that our approaches meet the wordings and proposals of those statements. Azerbaijan has never commented on this topic", he said.

 

Those statements have said that a Karabakh settlement must be based on the internationally recognized principles of territorial integrity of states, peoples'  self-determination and non-use of force.  "Azerbaijan had some problems with that", Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian told RFE/RL's Armenian service (Azatutyun.am) in Riga.  "That is why their foreign minister left the conference room. They tried unsuccessfully to bring him back". "But in the end, as a result of appropriate negotiations, it was agreed that the declaration will be adopted [without any amendments] and that Azerbaijan will [separately] present its objections regarding the corresponding provision," Nalbandian said.

 

"So what does this mean? It means that Armenia and an important part of the international community :  agreed on that matter whereas Azerbaijan was again left isolated," he claimed.

 

Commenting on Armenia and Belarus' stance on the wordings "illegal annexation of Crimea", Nalbandyan said that different countries' opinion varied on certain wordings and points in the declaration.  Armenia had its own opinion. "I cannot speak on behalf of Belarus. As for Armenia, the submitted ideas and proposals were accepted with favour. I can say that our proposals were mostly reflected in the Declaration", he said.